


Kingdom Pokemon

by madammina



Series: Kingdom Hearts Pokemon AU [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Also Pokemon work like in Detective Pikachu, First Chapter is just Sora's side in Chain of Memories, Gen, Pokemon AU, this got wildly out of control
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-07-16 05:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 23,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16079309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madammina/pseuds/madammina
Summary: Sora waking up one day to find out that an Espeon AND an Umbreon had picked him as their partner was weird.  People only get one Pokemon, usually not an evolved pokemon, and never two on the same day... when you are five.And then Sora lost his island to Darkness...





	1. Chain of Memories: Sora

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PoH](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoH/gifts).



> This is based on Detective Pikachu style Partnership. One Pokemon per a person, no legendaries, no battles. 
> 
> This was a birthday fic. I needed to get it out.

Sora knew these could not be his pokemon. When Riku got Mimikyu, Mimikyu had saved him from drowning in one of the little island’s caves and then had not left his side since then. His mother told the story of getting her Growlithe every night to Sora. She found the pokemon by the side of the road, bitten by an Ekans. After rushing her to the Pokemon center, the Growlithe was forever grateful and protected her in turn. His father’s Mudbray had been his friend ever since they were little and worked together on a farm. 

An Espeon and an Umbreon showing up at the foot of his bed one morning was not it. And no one ever had TWO. And they were both evolved. You just don’t suddenly wake up with evolved Pokemon bonded to you.

“MOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!” Sora shouted, then hid back under his robot sheets. The Espeon jumped onto the bed and curled up over his chest. 

“GROWLITHE!” Growlithe growled as he came into the room. The Umbreon hissed.

“Sweetie?” He heard his mom come into the room. “Sora! What is going on?”

“I DON KNOW!” Sora half sobbed. “These aren’t mine!” 

“Sora?” His dad entered the room. “Oh dear.” 

“Espeon” Espeon purred. Sora watched the adults move around while he hid behind the robot patterns. 

“Okay.’ He saw the blur of his mother take a breath. “Espeon and Umbreon, please let Sora get out of bed and wash up. I’m going to get some food ready downstairs. Okay?” 

The Umbreon darted through the shadows in his room and down the stairs. Sora felt the Espeon’s lump get off his chest and could hear it’s more delicate footsteps. 

***  
“That is weird,” Riku said later that day. Espeon and Umbreon sat on guard on either side of Sora. “Do ya think this has anything to do with you feeling sad last night?”

“Dunno,” Sora replied as he took a sip of his juice. Riku sat across from him at lunch, his Mimikyu lurked under the table. As they watched, Umbreon hissed at it. Mimikyu glowed with ghostly energy. “Hey, I wonder if they listen to me. Espeon? Umbreon? Can you sit…” He looked around. “On that table there!” 

Espeon left Sora’s side and wandered over, taking a detour to chase a rattatta, before finally sitting on the table one place over. 

Umbreon went to the fence. Sora sighed.

“See, they don’ belong to me,” he said as he let his face fall onto the table. Mimikyu did nothing, but Riku reached over and pat his back. 

“We’ll see what happens to them.” He said after a minute. “You just bonded, after all.” He went back to take a sip of his juice box. “ They can change once they know you. Even if you are just holding onto them, but maybe they are yours too.”  
***  
Kairi was new and had a pokemon named Floette. It looked like a fairy from stories that Sora’s mom told and went everywhere holding onto a flower. 

Kairi had appeared one day, with this new pokemon no one had seen before in town. She claimed to only remember its name. Espeon, Umbreon, and Mimikyu treated the new pokemon with tentative suspicion. 

“It’s fairy, so it’s super good against dark and dragon, but weak to Poison and steel,” Kairi said as she colored in a picture of a yellow bird. “Why do you have two?”

Sora shrugged.

“Hey, wanna go to the island later today?” Riku asked. “We can build sand castles!” 

“Sure!” Kairi said. Floette cheered and Umbreon and Mimikyu hid under the desks.  
**  
It was so long ago, and yet…

Sora had changed so much and so little. He had fought against a wave of darkness that threatened everything he knew, and something was different. 

Floette had joined their adventure for a bit, but she stayed in Traverse Town, with Kairi. 

Kairi should be home by now. Maybe telling his parents about how Espeon and Umbreon protected him from Donald when he was a heartless. Or maybe how Floette had tried to get through to Kairi. Or how Mimikyu held Riku back when he had gone for Sora, buying Sora enough time to try to push Ansem out. 

Or maybe it would all be a secret. 

Sora sat underneath the moon in the endless fields. In front of him, Espeon and Umbreon stared at the moon. Donald and Delphox slept behind him as Goofy and Kanghaskhan dozed by another road. 

There was so little to do, and yet so much. 

Espeon, sensing his mood, padded over to him and purred as he crawled into Sora’s lap. Sora absently stroked him. 

They had saved the universe. Whoever that Ansem was, he was from Destiny Islands like Sora. He had a Dehlmise. Those were only where Sora lived, so… how had Ansem come from there? There was a story about someone who had left the islands long ago… but like in his grandpa’s time. Ansem was old enough to be his father. 

Sora still pet Espeon. They just needed to find a way out, to find Mickey and Riku.

 

“Ahead lies something you need.” A voice said. Espeon started to hiss. Umbreon bounded - taking pains to step on Donald and Goofy- and landed in front of a figure. It wore a dark cloak and behind him stood a Scyther.

“But to claim it, you need to lose something dear.” It whispered, then the roads disappeared and a castle appeared in the distance. The man then disappeared too. 

“What was that?” Goofy asked. Sora blinked as Donald muttered something behind him. Espeon still hissed in the direction of the castle but tapered off as if it noticed something. Umbreon walked next to Espeon and stood patiently. Then they both bounded ahead. 

“WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH!” Sora shouted as he hurried after the two pokemon. They weren’t his. But they were close. Donald and Goofy hung back to stare at the giant castle before them, but Delphox used his Psychic powers to lift up Espeon and Umbreon while Kangaskhan stuffed them into her pouch. 

“It feels…” Sora said softly… not… not familiar per say. “Like our friends are here.” He finally said. “Espeon and Umbreon are never this excited unless food is out.”

“Yeah, I feel it too.” Donald agreed. “Maybe we can meet up with King Mickey and Riku?”

“I hope so,” Goofy said. At this point, Espeon and Umbreon came out of the pouch and hurried towards the door. 

“I feel like.. They’re here,” Sora said as he reached out to the door. “King Mickey and Riku.”

“I feel that too.” Goofy agreed. Donald nodded. Delphox flitted about, searching for something. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Espeon and Umbreon paused, Espeon’s tail rose and flicked around, psychically sensing for something. Umbreon let out a constant, low-level hiss. 

“That’s weird,” Sora said as he entered. “Hey, you guys ok?” 

Espeon barrelled towards the door. Goofy moved to close the door behind them and paused. 

“Uh, guys?” Goofy aid. They all turned to see the cloaked man from before closing the door behind him. His Scyther appeared in front of the door ahead of them. 

“Do not bother trying to anything.” The man said. “As soon as you stepped in here, you forgot every skill you knew.” 

Sora tried to use a strike raid. It fell from his hand a foot away.

“In this place to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. Welcome to Castle Oblivion.”

Espeon began to howl. 

“Castle, Espeon please be quiet, Castle Oblivion?” Sora asked. Espeon stopped howling, ran back and jumped up on Sora’s shoulder. Umbreon went to sit at Sora’s feet.

Kangaskhan looked back and forth between Sora and the cloaked man with the Scyther.

“Here you will meet people you knew in the past, and remember people you will miss.” The man said.

“Riku?” Sora asked. He started to step forward, but Umbreon stretched out at his feet. “Is Riku here?”

A Scyther suddenly appeared and flew by Sora. It appeared back behind the man and pulled several cards from mid-air. It gave them to the man, and the man threw one of them to Sora.

“From your memories, I have made this.” 

Delphox used it’s telekinesis to grab it out of midair. It checked it out, then passed it to Sora.

“A Card?”

“It is a promise for the reunion you seek. Hold the card to open the door. And beyond it, a new world. Proceed, Sora. To lose and claim anew, or to claim anew only to lose…”

The man and his pokemon disappeared. 

“Do you want to go?” Donald asked. Sora blinked and walked forward. He held up the card…  
****  
A few hours later, Sora left through another door. It was… oddly empty. Sure he had seen his friends, but they disappeared after they told their story. That wasn’t…. What had happened before?

“So, Sora did you enjoy meeting your memories.” The man said with his scyther behind him.

“Yeah, it was good to see Everyone,” Sora said as he stepped forward. “But what do you really want from me?”

“What do you have to give?” 

Before Sora could really even think of an answer to that question, a portal opened up and revealed a man with red spiky hair next to a Houndoom.

“ESPEON!” Espeon darted over to the Houndoom. “Espeon! Espeon!” 

The man looked at Espeon, a frown creasing his face. He then looked up. 

“You’re not Ven.” He finally said. Sora blinked. 

“Ven? No, I’m Sora.”

“My name is Axel, got it memorized?” 

The first man, the one with the scyther, slipped away as Axel prepared to test the new keyblade wielder.

***  
FLOOR 4.5

Espeon grew antsier as they climbed higher and higher in the castle. It’s tail constantly twitched and it kept on climbing up on Sora’s shoulders before deciding it was inefficient and climbing elsewhere. 

“They sense danger and weather via the wind,” Sora explained as it lept from his shoulders. “I think being in an enclosed castle isn’t good for it. “ He chuckled. “Though sometimes, too much wind isn’t good either. One time, we were with that other girl and -”

Sora stopped. He slowly reached up and touched his mouth. 

“I remember her.” He said slowly. Donald and Goofy turned to look at him. “NOt, not everything. Not her name. Just, just she went away when I was little. She had a Smeargle too!” He gave a smile. “Oh, I wish I could remember more.”

“I’m sure you will.’ Goofy reassured him. “You know more than you did before.”

“True,” Sora said. He gave a smile, as Espeon leaped onto Kangaskhan and Umbreon made it’s way up to Sora’s shoulders. “I just need to work on it a bit more.”

“Well, tell us a story as we move up,” Donald said. “I’m sure it will come back to you soon!

***  
Floor 5.5

“You know,” Goofy said. “You never told us the story you were going to say.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Sora stopped for a second. Espeon was sleeping in Kangaskhan’s pouch, finally exhausted. “She had a Smeargle so she was always drawing. Whenever I saw her, she was drawing. She always used to draw us playing, Riku, me, and the other girl with the Floette. One day, we were playing and a storm started to come. Espeon could sense it first.” He smiled. “So Espeon kept on trying to get our attention, but the sky was so clear that we thought Espeon just wanted to play too.” He shook his head. “It took that girl drawing us quite a few times to realize how much Espeon was fretting.”

“What happened?” Donald asked.

“Well, we tried to go back to our island, but Espeon started acting up again, turns out the storm had come very soon. Smeargle has a copy move, so she had it learn to surf and then woosh us back to shore.” Sora smiled. “We’re lucky we found a Gyarados that knew surf.” 

“She disappeared after that,” Sora said softly. “I don’t know if I ever knew why. Maybe I thought people were upset at us being on the island. Either way, I never saw her again shortly after that.” 

Espeon woke up now and jumped onto Sora’s shoulders with a yawn. 

“Maybe we should try to forget too.” Goofy mused. “You are getting all these good memories back, and we are not.”

“Maybe I can remember where Della is,” Donald said, and began to chase down the hall.

****  
Larxene was trying to be smug about this. Their plan was working perfectly. He was preparing to face new challenges. Soon he could work against the Superior.

But Axel kept on staring at the Espeon. There was no way it could be the same one. And yet… That boy… he had looked a lot like Roxas. Or was it the other way around? But how? 

Her Galvantula dropped down in front of Axel, and if he was human he would have stepped back in shock at the 2-foot electric spider. As it was, he stepped back just to keep it from landing on him. 

“Are you listening?”

“Sora searching for Namine causes her powers to grow on him. Which leads to him wanting to save her, which leads to other things.” Axel said as he leaned up against the wall. “How does he have an Espeon and an Umbreon?” 

His own Houndoom lay at his feet curled up slightly. 

“Maybe it’s just the strength of his heart?” Larxene asked in a way that made it clear she did not care. “Strong heart, manipulated by Namine, should be fun, right?”

Axel looked past Larxene and into a square at Radiant Gardens where his Houndour and an Espeon played hide and seek while he used frisbees to fight with the Espeon’s partner.

“Yeah, fun.”

***

Sora leaned up against the white wall and pulled out the seashell amulet that he held in his pocket. 

“Do you think we forgot anything else?” Sora asked softly. “I know… I know this is Kairi’s. But did we forget anything else?”

***  
“I wish I could remember her name,” Sora muttered as he left the floor. “I remember what she looked like, she liked to draw with blue, her Smeargle liked to pull Espeon’s tail so Umbreon would snap at Smeargle, she preferred mermaids to pirates, but why can’t I remember her name?” 

“There’s something funny though.” Jimminy Cricket said as he hopped out of Sora’s hood. They all stopped to look at him. “Sora’s forgotten a lot, but he suddenly remembered something too.”

“To Find is to lose, and to lose is to find,” Goofy said pensively. “Mebbe that their cloaked guy was onto something.” 

“They also said our most precious memories lie deep in our hearts.” Donald put his hand into one of his zippered pockets and pulled out a picture of a girl - not Daisy- in a pilot’s outfit standing behind three eggs. Goofy pulled out his own photo, of a young boy dressed in Red. Sora looked at the Good Luck Charm. Donald suddenly huffed and put the photo away. 

“Come on, Goofy, we need to forget things faster!”

***  
“You had your fun on the first floor, let me have a go.” Larxene pouted, her Galvantula skittering around on the walls.

Axel handed the card over and went back to stroking Houndoom’s fur. 

“I wasn’t going to break him, but maybe I will considering how distracted you are. Do you have a soft spot? Is it Roxas?” Larxene giggled. 

“Depends how much you need him to take over the Organization,” Axel said offhandedly and stopped as she put her finger over his lips.

“If you’re in on it too, we need to keep quiet until we can make our move.” Then she vanished. 

Axel sighed and sat down on the floor. Houndoom went over and began to nuzzle his knee.

“I know the boy. You know it too. Something is… not right.” 

Roxas had a Litten. But he looked exactly like the kid with the Espeon. But Sora now had that Espeon if Houndoom’s reaction was anything to go by. And Roxas was Sora’s Nobody. But it was ten years ago. 

What was going on here?  
***  
Sora still mused over things as he left the next floor. As they left the world, they found a woman with a giant spider waiting for them.

“You must work with Axel!” Donald shouted. 

“ I'm Larxene. So...are you enjoying your stay at the castle? I bet it's nice to peel away all the worthless memories and awaken the true memories that lie deep in your heart.” 

Namine curled up on her seat, her Smeargle next to her. She shoved her paper away and gathered her smeargle into her lap. It gave a little almost purr and let her stroke him. 

“They’ll be fine,” Axel said after a moment. He and Houndoom had abandoned their staring at the wall and instead moved over to the crystal ball where Sora was fighting Larxene and discovering the new charm. 

“What if Sora gets hurt because of me,” Namine asked. Smeargle jumped out of her lap and picked up her spare paper. It then licked it’s tail and began to draw something. “This is all my fault.”

“It’s somebody’s fault, yes. Not sure it’s yours.” Axel said distractedly as Sora and Larxene fought. Their pokemon stayed out of it of course. Even if they hadn’t, Sora’s two on one would give him an advantage, even if is Psychic-type Espeon was weak to Larxene’s Electric and Bug Galvantula. 

“Axel?” Namine looked over. 

“Something…” But he stopped talking as Larxene warped back in. 

“Whew, throwing that battle wore me out.” Larxene sighed. Her Galvantula scurred back up onto her shoulder. 

“Really? Looks to me like you just lost.” Axel said as he gestured to the crystal ball. Houndoom moved around in front of him. 

“HOW DARE YOU! You don’t appreciate the nuances of-”

“An Ungainly effort.” The temperature dipped as Vexen and his Cryogonal showed up. His Cryogonal always looked mad, which somehow managed to match the emotion Vexen put forth when he should be unable to emote at all. 

Namine ignored them as they argued back and forth about who was to do what and why and how much shame they brought. 

“I shall also need his Pokemon,” Vexen said, a card in his hand. “Namine?” 

She looked up and took her book back from Smeargle. She quickly hid Smeargle’s drawing, of her and Smeargle running away in a field. 

“I wasn’t able to get a good look at it, but I think it’s a Pikachu.” She said as she turned the notebook over. Sora’s last memory of Riku was him silhouetted in a door with the unmistakable shadow of Pikachu by his ankle. The legs seemed a bit weird and blurry, but everything about the scene was a bit rushed.  
“Good. Stall him while I get one.” Vexen said as he left.

***  
Sora left the room and stared across the hall.

“You’re not Riku.” He said after a moment.

“YES I AM!” The Riku shouted. “You have clearly forgotten about me, in your worship of Namine.”

“No, you’re not Riku because Riku has a Mimikkyu.” Everyone turned to look at the Pikachu at Riku’s feet. “Mimikkyu’s look a lot like Pikachu, but they aren’t Pikachu. They are fairy and Ghost.” 

Far, far, away, several Organization members and Namine covered their faces with various feelings of disappointment. Vexen was the one to pull up the Pokedex and did find a photo of Mimikkyu, which matched Namine’s drawing of Sora’s memory of Riku. And the note it was only found in Destiny Islands, and even then rarely. 

Back between the 7th and the 8th floor, Riku glanced at Pikachu, who came and jumped on Riku’s shoulders. 

“Are you sure?” He asked. “You are losing your memory.”

“Positive.” Sora nodded. “I was worried about Riku being in the realm of Darkness, but I remembered that Mimikkyu would keep him safe because it was a ghost. Plus sometimes Umbreon and Mimikkyu would see who could hide in the dark the best.“ 

Riku shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a paupou fruit keychain. “I… remember swearing to protect Namine.” 

Sora pulled out his own keychain, the same one. “So do I.” 

“I… I need to figure this out.”

Sora glanced back at Donald, Goofy, Kangaskhan, Delphox, Espeon, and Umbreon, who all nodded. Except for Umbreon, who had settled down for a nap. 

“Do you want to come with us?” Sora asked. The Riku looked up as Pikachu moved to the top of his head. 

“I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” He admitted. Kangaskhan bounded over and began to hug Riku, then snuggle Pikachu. 

“Sorry about that.” Goofy apologized as he came over. “Kangaskhan helped me raise my Max. She loves kids.” Espeon and Umbreon bounded up onto Sora’s shoulders and Delphox rescued Pikachu from Kangaskhan. 

“We’ll figure this out,” Sora said, and held out his hand as soon as Kangaskhan let go. Riku took it. “Let’s go together.” 

***  
“I SAID I THOUGHT IT WAS PIKACHU!” Namine shrieked. Smeargle was in front of her, waving his tail as Larxene’s Galvanulta skittered around on the ceiling. Vexen almost had his teeth bared as his Cryogonal spun fiercely, prepping an attack. 

“Vexen, leave her alone. She said she thought it was it, and gave you the drawing. You didn’t double check it, so it’s partly on you.” Axel said. He gave a little hand motion and Houndoom bounded over in front of her too. “Besides, it’s a rare Pokemon. It’s fine she didn’t recognize it.” 

“Can we fix it?” A voice said. Everyone turned and saw Marluxia and his Scyther teleport in. He tossed his hood off with a flourish. “Can we make Sora think Riku always had a Pikachu?”

“No.” Namine shook her head. “Because of how memories are connected, I would have to wipe things from before he went into Castle Oblivion.”

“So then he just suddenly becomes aware he has lost his memory in the middle of Castle Oblivion. IT’s a hard restart.” Vexen mused.

“And more suspicious,” Marluxia added. 

“He would forget Donald and Goofy and..” she paused, glowing slightly. “His own Pokemon too. He got them after Riku had Mimikkyu.” 

“We could reshape him however we wanted.” Larxene offered. 

“It would break his heart,” Namine said, softly. “This is working because I do it slowly. A hard wipe like that needs to be a last resort. Otherwise, his heart would shatter.”

“Leaving him a Nobody,” Axel said softly.

“Worse than that.” Namine looked up at them. “He’s technically a Heartless right now. Shattering his heart would just erase him.”

“Fine,” Marluxia said after a moment. “We shall continue with our plan.” 

“Are you sure on that?” Vexen asked. “Namine’s powers are new and unique. We could just make her wipe it. My Cyogonal has been wanting to study art lately….” Cryogonal refocused slightly so it aimed at her Smeargle. Houndoom jumped in front, flames wreathing his mouth. 

“I have been handed the Castle and Namine by our leader,” Marluxia said as he held out his scythe. “Defying me will be seen as treason.”

“Traitors are to be eliminated, I believe that is the rule.” Axel offered from his position behind Vexen. Vexen growled in frustration.

“I could fight him.” Vexen offered. “Show you that my work was not wasted.”

“You can not win against him,” Marluxia said. “But I do not wish to doubt a comrade. You were the one to catch the Pikachu, maybe you did check and decided to sabotage it for some experiment.”

“He is going on and on about them,” Larxene said in a bored tone of voice. “And your first one falls to a logic puzzle.”

“I’ll get him back.” Vexen hissed. “I’ll show you all that my experiment is useful! We just hit a bump in the road, but we can get this to truly work.”

“And Sora?” Marluxia asked. “What shall you do with him?”

“Does it matter?” Vexen asked. “We either get him sooner for our plans, he gets killed but we have Roxas, or he escapes and tracks us down anyway. Two out of three times ends up well for us. And the last one isn’t horrible. I do not see how you can miss such an obvious solution.” Vexen disappeared. 

“Well, this will be fun,” Larxene said as her Galvantula dropped down to her shoulder. “Either Vexen turns traitor or we get Sora.”

“Or he’s killed.” Axel reminded her. “What happens to Pokemon when their owners die?”

“Does it matter?” Larxene asked. They glanced at Marluxia who was “attempting” to comfort Namine.  
***  
“Do you remember promising to Protect Namine?” The Riku asked. Pikachu had left his side to snuggle into Kangaskhan’s pouch. Kangaskhan looked quite pleased with herself. 

“Of course I do,” Sora said as they continued. “Which is weird, we have gone through ten floors. You would think I would forget more instead of remembering Namine. Though-” He frowned. “I don’t remember my parent’s pokemon. Or my other friends besides Riku and Namine.” 

“Other?” The Riku asked. “You had other friends?”

“I think so.” Sora frowned. “They are just blurry shapes. Maybe… maybe I can remember them soon. Or if we ever make it home, ask them what they remember about Namine.” 

“Home?” The Riku frowned. “I… I don’t remember my home.”

“Aw, that’s okay Riku,” Goofy said as they walked up to the next door. “Home’s just were your family and friends are. So right now, it’s with us!”  
***  
“Do you remember our adventure?” Sora asked as they went through another hallway. The pokemon were all napping in Kangaskhan and Sora was starting to wish he could join them. He may not remember the fights, but they were draining on him. Riku had joined his world deck like Donald and Goofy though, which was proving to be a big help. 

“No.” The Riku frowned. “I remember everything with Namine clearly, but anything outside of that is a blank.” 

“Huh,” Goofy said. “That is particular. I don’t remember the name of that castle where we fought you, but I remember we did that.” 

“Maybe I’ve just been in here longer than you.” Riku offered. He glanced back at Kangaskhan and frowned. Sora knew what he was thinking. If that was the case, how did he get Pikachu over Mimkyu?

***  
Sora led the way out of the final set of rooms. At the end of the hall stood a man with a shield. 

“WAIT! THAT”S VEXEN!” The Riku Shouted. 

“Who?” Sora asked, his hand already twitching for his keyblade. Donald, Goofy, and their pokemon spilled out, ready for a fight. Even Espeon had stopped acting so antsy.

“I am that Riku’s creator. He’s been a decent excuse for a Replica.” Vexen said, pointing at Riku. 

“What?” Riku blinked. “Creator? I’m... “ he glanced at Pikachu, who jumped up and onto his shoulder. “I…. Oh… I…” Then he turned and walked to the wall and curled up on the floor. Pikachu jumped around until he was on top of Riku and curled up there too, his calls an attempt to keep Riku from drifting too far. 

“What did you do?” Sora shouted. 

“Why trouble you in your final hour?” Vexen replied. 

Sometime later, Sora came over and shook Riku’s shoulder.

“Let’s get going, Vexen wants to meet us in a place that is in the other side of my heart, but I don’t-”

“I’m fake.” The Riku said. “I’m not real. Sora, I’m not a real person.” He continued to stare at the wall. “That’s why my memories are all shoddy and I have a Pikachu. I’m not a real person, let alone the real Riku.” 

Pikachu left his post on top of Riku to nuzzle his cheek. 

“I think you are a real person,” Sora said after a minute. Umbreon tentatively came over to poke The Riku’s back with his nose. “You breathe and stuff.”

“But… but I’m all fake.” The Riku said. 

“No, you got Pikachu,” Sora said. “Riku doesn’t. You have to have something real.”

“Can I just stay here?” The Riku asked. “Just… let me be.”

“Hey, hey, Riku.” Goofy knelt down next to him. “You know, I have a kid. His name is Max.” The Riku said nothing. “And Ol’ Maxy, sometimes he gets a bit sulky. He is a teenager after all. Sometimes, I give him space. He will work things out on his own, I trust him. But other times I need to take him out to do things.”

“Why.” The Riku asked. “To remind him that you are there?”

“Yep,” Goofy replied. “Otherwise he’ll just stay in his own head. And that’s not always a good thing.” Goofy got up and stretched. “Why don’t you go with Kangaskhan for a bit. You can just sit in there and think, but we’ll be nearby, okay?”

“.. Okay.” The Riku finally said. 

***  
The next world opened up to a large city, bathed in Twilight. To Sora’s surprise, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and their pokemon still were behind him. 

“Gawrsh, Where are we?” Goofy asked as he looked at the lights. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place as lit up like this.”

“I don’t know.” Sora frowned. “It feels… familiar. But I don’t know this place at all.” 

“That can’t be right.” Jiminy Cricket said as he jumped from Sora’s hood. “Up until now, we’ve always been from places in Sora’s memory.”

“I know but… this is new.” Sora frowned. “Can’t you feel it? My Island, it wasn’t like this. And the places we went to, they had a…. a character. Maybe this isn’t from my memory at all.”

“It’s not from mine.” Riku sulked. “All I remember is Namine.” 

Sora pulled out the good luck charm, the one he and Riku shared. 

“There’s a memory that goes with this.” He said slowly. “One night, when Namine and I were little, there was a meteor shower.” At this, Espeon perked up. His ears lay flat against his head as he watched the charm. “Namine started to cry. ‘What if a shooting star hits the island!’” She said. Smeargle crawled into her lap and Espeon lay next to us. Umbreon liked to hide in the dark. So I told her, if it DID come this way, I’d hit it back into space!” Sora smiled at the memory. “She said “thanks” and gave me the charm. She said she had it ever since she was a baby.” He sighed and put it back. “She left the island soon after that.” 

Riku sat up in Kangaskhan’s pouch and pulled out his own charm. He said nothing. 

After some time, they found a mansion. Sora frowned as he looked up at it. 

“I feel like I’ve been here before.” Sora frowned. “I know I don’t know it, but it feels like I should.” 

Espeon jumped up into his arms. He began to casually pet him. Umbreon, always wanting to one-up Espeon, jumped up to Sora’s shoulders. 

“Maybe it’s like Namine?” Donald asked. Sora shook his head.

“Namine drifted back piece by piece. This…. This is like looking at a photograph of a vacation I went on when I was five. It’s familiar, but I don’t recognize it at all. “

“Feeling Nostalgic?” Vexen appeared with a flourish, his Cryogonal lazily twirling behind him. “A question, your memories of Namine or your memories here, which are more real I wonder?”

“Namine!” Sora shouted. Vexen chuckled.

“Ah, memories. In its silence, we forget. In its obsession we bind our hearts.” He glanced over at Riku and Pikachu then. Riku got out of Kangaskhan and held out his blade. 

“Cut the Riddles!” Sora yelled again. 

“I told you, all these cards are made from your memories. This place is Real, but it’s from the Other Side of your heart.” He glanced at Espeon, and gears began to turn in his head. His face contorted slightly as he thought. “or One of them at least. That part of your heart that remembers.” 

“I DON’T KNOW HERE!” Sora shouted. Espeon and Umbreon lept from Sora and landed in front of him, fangs bared. 

“If you remain bound to this chain of memories, to refuse to believe what is truly inside your heart, then you shall sink into Darkness and disappear. The chain of memories become an anchor that enslaves you to false hope and realities. Like My Riku.” 

“I’M NOT YOURS!” Riku shouted. Pikachu landed in front of him, cheeks sparking. 

“But you are worth Nothing, as Sora will soon be,” Vexen said. 

“ENOUGH!” Sora summoned his keyblade. “I’m going to take you down and save Riku and Namine. That’s what’s in my heart!” 

**  
Vexen lay on the ground, his Cryogonal flitting over him. Sora was breathing heavily, and if it wasn’t for Riku and Donald double teaming Vexen he surely would have lost. 

“GET UP AND TELL RIKU YOU LIED! YOU JUST SOMEHOW SWITCHED HIS POKEMON!” Sora shouted, his keyblade pointed at Vexen. 

“Ugh, to have such strength, even at the mercy of your memory.” Vexen pushed up until he could sit, then started at Sora and Riku, before laughing. 

“I am not lying to Riku, he’s a fake. A Replica. A Bio Synthetic copy of a human being. If it wasn’t for the slip up over his Pokemon, he would be indistinguishable from the real thing.” Vexen stood up. “And that includes sharing the real’s fate, to be sunk into the Darkness.” Vexen squared his shoulders. “And that includes you too, Sora of Destiny Islands. If you continue to search for Namine, the anchor around your heart will drag you down until you become Marluxia’s pawn!” 

“Marluxia?” Sora blinked, as did Espeon. “What does Namine-”

A chakram flew by Sora and hit Vexen. Cryogonal got out in front, but a black dog with horns and a skull over his chest bounded past Espeon and fire wreathed his mouth. 

“Yo, Sora, did I catch you at a bad time?” Axel asked as he walked into the area. The Chakram flew back to his hand and disappeared. Espeon stared at Houndoom. 

“Axel, why?” Vexen asked, clutching his shoulder. 

“I had to stop you from talking, by eliminating your existence.” Axel gave a cocky grin. 

“No...” Vexen tried to stand up. “No, please.” 

Kangaskhan tried to move forward, but Houndoom turned on her. Cryogonal tried to get between Vexen and Axel, but another quick throw of the Chakram pushed it out of the way. 

“We Nobodies who have no one to be, but we still are.” Axel pretended to muse. “But now you can be nothing instead of a Nobody. You are off the hook.” 

“No!” Vexen shouted, reaching for Cryogonal. Darkness began to bloom behind Vexen.

“Goodbye.” 

Vexen shrieked as his body lit on fire. Cryogonal tried to put it out, but it did no good. Vexen turned into dark flakes and the portal he had created for himself, took only Cryogonal in even as it fought to be next to the disappearing body of his partner. 

“What are you, people,” Sora asked in horror. Riku had slumped down, and Delphox stared at it’s burning stick as if debating to throw it away. Pikachu and Donald went to their partners to comfort them, but Riku only managed to scratch between Pikachu’s ears. 

“I wonder about that myself,” Axel said and Disappeared.  
**  
Riku staggered out of the room and fell to the ground. Pikachu got up on top of him as he started to shiver. 

“Delphox?” Donald said, and Delphox rushed over. It tried to use its flaming stick to keep Riku warm. 

“I’m… Fake.” Riku said. ‘I really, really am.” He leaned back. “Can I even call myself Riku?” 

“I can’t answer that,” Sora said as he sat down next to him. Espeon crawled into his lap, but Umbreon tried to push Pikachu out of the way to get on Riku’s lap. “I think you’re real though.”

“You said that before.” Riku shook his head and pulled out a charm. 

“That’s Namine’s good luck charm!” Sora shouted “How-” he paused and pulled out one of his own. “How did you get it?” 

“I have that memory you have, of Namine and the shooting stars.” Riku sighed. “It was a happy memory, but it’s tainted now. I don’t know what I am.” He glanced over and Sora. “And don’t say ‘You’re Riku!’ because I’m not. And I know you well enough to know that’s what you would say.” 

Sora shut his mouth. 

“Okay, so you’re not Riku. That just means a few other great things!” Sora finally said. “First off, you have a cuddlier Pokemon than he does.” 

“Pi-KA-chu!” Pikachu added in from the Riku’s feet. Umbreon had completely taken over his lap. 

“Please don’t tell Mimikyu I said that,” Sora said after a second. “Secondly-”

“Namine is Real,” Repliku said. “I can tell you that. She’s higher up, I saw her.” He stood up. Umbreon fell off his lap and hissed. “Here.” He handed his charm over to Sora. It glowed and turned into a card. “Go see her.” 

“She’s… at my home?” Sora asked as the card turned into Destiny Islands. 

“I don’t know.” The Riku sighed as he began to stretch. “I saw her at the top of the castle, with… people.” He finally said. “I may join you later. I want… I need to think about things for a bit.”

“Okay.” Sora nodded then stood up too. “I’ll tell Namine you said hello, okay?” 

“Fine.” The Riku said. Pikachu ran up The Riku’s leg and sat on his shoulder. “I’ll be okay.” 

“Let’s go see Namine!” Sora ran off. “Come on Donald and Goofy!”

“Eh, Sora-” Donald began to argue. 

Only a floor above, Axel watched this via the Crystal ball as Donald and Goofy elected to stay behind too. 

“You’re all he’s got left, Namine,” Axel replied. “Rumor is, not even his Pokemon are his own.” He made a point to scratch behind Houndoom’s ears at this. Namine hugged her smeargle even closer. 

“It’s too late,” Namine whispered, her face buried in Smeargle’s short fur. 

“You shouldn’t give up just yet. Say Namine, have you noticed that Marluxia and his Scyther aren’t around?” He made a show of gesturing to the corners of the room. 

“What are you saying?” Namine asked. 

“Just that there is no one here to get in your way. Houndoom likes being petted too much.” 

Namine got up, grabbed Smeargle, and ran out of the room. 

Something akin to guilt and giggles roiled in Axel’s stomach. 

“I really am enjoying this.” He muttered. Houndoom whined and Axel went back to petting him. “Sora, show me what you can do. “  
***  
Sora walked onto his home island. Someone was over there with Passimian. Another was talking to Komala, and a third was fishing with Tirtouga. Espeon almost bounded over to his familiar sand spot while Umbreon slunk over to the shadows beneath the plants. 

“HEY GUYS!” Sora shouted. His friends turned and ran over to him. Well, the girl who fished had to grab Tirtouga from the water. Passimian continued to juggle his ball. Komala did nothing, as it always slept. 

As his friends bantered, Sora slowly recalled their names.

“OH YEAH!” He finally shouted. “Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie!” 

“If you want us to leave you two alone...” Selphie teased, her arms tight around her Tirtouga. Passimian tugged on Wakka’s pants and Komala did nothing as always.

“So we can spy on you,” Wakka added. Selphie started to pull Wakka away as Tidus pointed in the direction to go. 

Espeon and Umbreon grumbled as they left their spots to join Sora as he trecked to the People island. 

Namine wasn’t there, instead, Riku leaned up against it. Mimikyu staying oddly still beneath the shade… and looking a bit too much like Pikachu. 

“Riku?” Sora walked forward. “Riku, is that you?” 

“Of course it’s me. Are you half asleep? You can’t really protect her if that’s the case.” Riku walked forward to muss Sora’s hair. Sora dodged it. 

“No, no...” He trailed off. “You’re the one from my memories, aren’t you?”

“You are half asleep.” Riku sighed. “Seriously-” At that point, a large earthquake shook the island.

“What’s-” Sora looked around. “Riku- I”

“I’ll go see what I can do,” Riku shouted as he ran off. Mimikyu still did not move. 

“Okay, then-” Sora started to say.

“I know! You’ll go take care of her!” Riku yelled. Sora ran off, Espeon and Umbreon on his heels. 

He finally found Namine and Smeargle on an undestroyed part of the island. 

“Namine!” Sora shouted as he ran forward. “I finally found you!” 

“Sora!” Namine said as she turned around. “You did but.. this isn’t right. I messed up.” 

“Namine?”

“I was lonely for so long. I just couldn't bear it anymore. So I called out to your heart and had you come all the way out to this place. You came for me and I'm so...so happy, but...but to your heart, I had to-” Namine curled up. Smeargle was watching, as was Espeon and Umbreon.

“I’m here,” Sora said as he came forward. He went to grab her hand. 

“But I’m not supposed to be here,” Namine said as she pulled her hand away. “I am not supposed to exist anywhere.”

Sora paused.

“Like the Riku?” He finally asked. “The one that Vexen said was a robot?” 

Namine looked up, and a second Namine appeared. 

“Yes, and no. I am not a robot, but I took the place of someone very important to you.’ The second Namine said. Her Smeargle was there too and was more active than the first one. It hid from Espeon and Umbreon. Umbreon swayed as the debris flew around above them. Espeon jumped into Sora’s hood where Jiminy usually resided.

“But I have your good luck charm,” Sora said as he pulled it out. 

“Yes!” said one Namine while the other yelled “No!”

“Think about it,” Namine said. “Who is most important to you!” Both Namines wavered. 

“It’s you, Nami-” But the keychain transformed, and both disappeared. 

“We should go,” Sora said softly as he trudged towards the exit. His pokemon followed.

When Sora exited the hallway, he found Namine there. Her Smeargle was hunched over the sketchbook.

“You… aren’t the one most important to me.” Sora said. “But, I don’t know who it is.” 

“She’s not just going to TELL you.” Larxene appeared, her Galvantula next to her. Sora stepped backward. A two-foot tall Electric Spider was not a pokemon you wanted to cross. “That stupid Riku. He took away all my fun. All that torture over how you were supposed to be fake, and how its memories are real, and then Namine here screws up and gives him the wrong Pokemon SO I NEVER GOT TO ENJOY THE IRONY!” She raised her hand to hit Namine and then glanced at Sora. He had fallen to the ground.

“Wait...” he looked up. “Irony? Are my memories...” 

“Fake. All fake. Namine put them into your head.” Larxene giggled. Espeon and Umbreon began to hiss at Larxene. Galvantula hissed back. “You were going to be even more of a puppet than that Riku was! Marluxia and I would use you to overthrow the Organization. The TRUE keyblade Master versus those liars. Than AXEL betrayed us!” She hissed and pulled out her knives. “Now I Get to eliminate you!” 

Espeon and Umbreon jumped in front of Sora, their hackles raised. Namine ran over to join them with Smeargle.

“Don’t!” Namine began to plead. 

“It’s a little late for the witch to grow a conscience.” Larxene hissed. “You caused this! And now you are not letting me have the least bit of fun!” Larxene slapped Namine away, and she skidded until she hit a wall. 

“NAMINE!” Sora shouted as he got up. Espeon and Smeargle rushed over to help her. Larxene rolled her eyes.

“Are you actually UPSET?” Larxene asked. “You don’t know her!”

“But I made a promise.” Sora grimaced and fell back down. “And I intend to keep it! Whether it’s real or not!” Espeon purred very loudly and stared pointedly at Sora’s heart. 

“But it doesn’t matter! It was fake!” Larxene sighed. “How much of an idiot are you!”

“A lot.” Riku’s voice came from behind Sora. Donald and Goofy rushed forward while Riku led their Pokemon. Donald healed Sora as Goofy got in front of him. “I’ve been through this, he’s an idiot.”

“It’s the FAKE.” Larxene sneered. 

“In the flesh.” He gave a mock bow. “If I have flesh. Point is, I”m not leaving him alone.”

“We aren’t neither,” Goofy added in as Donald nodded. “We also made a promise and we were worried. Sora needs his help, and we’re there.” 

“It’s always the three of us,” Donald said sincerely as he helped Sora stand up. “We may grow and add more, but at the core? This adventure is us three.” 

“Fine,” Larxene said as she lit herself up with electricity. “More pain for you is more fun for me!” 

She lost though, and her Galvantula skittered away into the darkness of the castle up ahead. 

“You must be Namine,” Goofy said as he came over. He took her hand and bowed over it. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“You found your friend, Sora!” Donald cheered. 

“I told you she was real.” The Riku said. Namine shook her head in response. 

“I’m sorry,” Namine said as she looked around. “To all of you. I lied to all of you. I was never in Sora’s memories, and I erased the other ones too. And Riku...” Riku leaned up against the wall, petting Pikachu. 

“I know,” Riku said. “I understand.” 

“I need to fix this,” Namine explained. Smeargle came over and stood by her. She turned to gather him up in her arms. “I can fix this. I can’t let this hurt go on anymore. The person that is truly important...”

“I remember her. A bit.” Sora said. “I…”

“I was never there Sora,” Namine said softly. “Your memories, the promise, none of that existed.” She shook her head. “I can restore it if we get to the 13th floor. But-”

“There is someone there,” Jiminy suggested. She nodded. “The man we met at the beginning.”

“I was lonely.” Namine tried to explain. “He said, he said if I used my powers I could have friends. But if I didn’t use my powers, he would just lock me up alone. He would even take away Smeargle.” She began to cry.

“Oh, Namine. Please don’t cry.” Sora said as he grabbed her hand. 

“I know… I don’t have the right too.” She half sobbed. Riku turned away. 

“No that’s...” Sora paused. “I’m not happy about you messing around with my memories. But to me, they feel real. So… they are real. All of them. You say the promise is made up. But it feels right. So I’m going to honor it. Me and Espeon and Umbreon. I will protect you. So please don’t cry. “

 

“Sora,” Namine said softly. 

“He’s always been an idiot,” Riku muttered.

“Yeah, he’s always like this around girls.” Donald teased. 

“I thought you guys lost your memories too!” Sora almost shouted. 

“Too bad, friend’s don’t forget the good stuff,” Donald said with a wink as Goofy laughed. Delphox joined Riku in rolling their eyes and Kanghaskhan was busy digging into her pouch to pull something out. When she did so, it was a blanket. 

“Kanghaskhan wants you to be warm,” Goofy said as he got over to her. “She always thinks everyone is cold.” 

“I… thank you,” Namine said through a tear streaked smile.

“That’s the Namine I remember!” Sora replied back with a grin. “I always liked your smile. I know you said it was fake, but this right now? It’s real.”

“Thank you.” She said. 

“I’ll look after her,” Riku said as he stepped away from the wall. “Marluxia may be up there. And you guys want your memories back.”

“And what about you?” Sora asked. Riku shrugged.

“I have Pikachu. We’ll build from there.”

“We can protect each other,” Namine said as she stepped closer to The Riku. 

“We’ll find you when it’s over,” Riku replied. 

“Okay. It’s a plan.” Sora gave a nod. “Let’s go finish this.”  
**  
“You have some nerve to show your treasonous face in here,” Marluxia said. Axel was behind him, and Riku and Namine’s unconscious bodies were lying on the floor. Riku had put up a fight, he had all of the memories of how Riku fought after all, but no one was expecting Scyther to fight. Pikachu was thrown into a cage that was there for some reason, and Smeargle kept on trying to wake up Namine. The orb nearby showed Sora, Donald, and Goofy making some sort of promise with Kangaskhan, Delphox, Espeon, and Umbreon surrounding them.

“Treason, I don’t know what you are talking about,” Axel said. Houndoom was as always by his side. He glared at Scyther. 

“If you hadn’t let Namine go, we could have used Sora to take over the Organization,” Marluxia said as calmly as he could. “Having a keyblade wielder-”

“That isn’t Roxas, right?” Axel grinned. “You were going to have Namine turn Sora into a puppet, then point him at the Organization. Maybe force him to go up against his own nobody. Or… something else.” He glanced at Scyther. “I know I’m missing a piece to this, something involving the past. But with that plan? It sounds like you are the traitor.” 

“So you eliminated Vexen to obtain proof of our plans?” Marluxia said as calmly as always. 

“It had to be done. It WAS your order.” Axel replied, also flipping back and forth between Marluxia and Scyther. “I believe you said, Eliminate the Traitor?” He pulled out his Chakrams. “In this case, I think that’s you.” 

As Axel charged, Marluxia sidestepped and pulled out Namine who stood in front of Marluxia, his hand holding her head straight. 

“She’s no good as a shield.” Axel sighed. Marluxia glanced at the door.

“Do you hear that Sora!” Marluxia called out. 

“Yeah, I heard.” Axel didn’t turn, but Houndoom did to look at the door. 

“Well, now, are you Marluxia’s puppet already?” Axel asked in an almost even tone.

“Oh don’t worry.” Sora sounded almost vindictive. At least out for revenge. “After I finish with you, he’s next!” 

“Oh, Sora.” Axel sighed as he turned around. Marluxia warped away with Namine, Riku, and their Pokemon in tow. “We have more in common than you think.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sora replied. “You hurt Namine, Destroyed The Other Riku, and messed with my memories. You are gone.” 

At the end of the fight, Axel allowed the dark egg envelope himself and Houndoom. It almost looked like he was leaning on Houndoom for support. 

“Looks like I made a good choice to save you,” Axel said through sweat dripping down his face. And then he and Houndoom were gone. 

Sora rushed ahead to find Marluxia. He stood there, still holding onto Namine. Riku and Pikachu were behind him. 

“You’ve defeated Axel,” Marluxia said. Even Scyther looked smug. Marluxia started to laugh. “Oh, the Keyblade’s power, how I longed to make it my own!”

“Let Namine go!” Sora shouted. 

“No.” Marluxia replied. “Namine, erase Sora’s memory.” 

“NO!” Namine cried out and managed to flee from Marluxia (Smeargle helped) “If I do that-”

“Sora’s heart will be destroyed,” Marluxia replied. “I would have preferred him… unmarred.” His eyes drifted to Sora’s Espeon as an expression crossed his face. Not quite like Vexen’s, but he too was working something out. And then, disgust and resolve. 

“He can certainly be rebuilt,” Marluxia said, this time looking at Umbreon. Umbreon was inscrutable, compared to Espeon’s confused disgust. 

“NO!” Namine shouted back. Smeargle got in front of her, brandishing his tail. “Sora’s.. he’s been so nice to me after everything I did! I can’t hurt him!”

“Do it!” Sora shouted back. 

“Why?” Namine asked. Marluxia still looked annoyed. 

“Because, who will I look after if I don’t have Namine?” Sora shouted.

“Espeon and Umbreon,” Marluxia replied. He was immediately answered by the two yowling and a dirty look from Kangaskhan. 

“I promised to always protect you! And I can do that without my memories!” Sora continued over his two pokemon. 

“Sora-”

“I don’t need any memories to take on Marluxia.” Sora continued.

“And Goofy and I can remember for him!” Donald added. 

“So I’ll have my friend’s memories too!” Sora finished. “That way, I can piece it all together!” 

“You fool.” Marluxia hissed. “You will be just a shell. Barely even human, like Vexen’s Riku.”

“Really?” 

A sword appeared in Marluxia’s midriff. Sora moved to the side to see Riku down on one knee, forcing the sword through Marluxia’s back. 

 

“And unlike Sora, my promise was real.” Marluxia staggered forward, and Riku pulled his sword back. Pikachu finally made his way out of the cage. “I know I’m a fake, a fraud, a Bio Synthetic Robot. You can’t take that away from me. But I made a promise to Namine on this floor. That is my anchor. “ Riku stood up. “And if Namine has me, then Sora, go ahead. He can tackle you.” 

Sora rushed forward, but Marluxia faded quickly. 

“He can’t be gone,” Donald said. Delphox hovered behind him as Kanghaskan went over to check on Namine.

“Just an imitation.” Marluxia’s voiced boomed as a door opened up ahead. “Come, let the chain of lies shackle your heart and you drown in servitude.” 

“… If I’m ever that overblown, please hit me.” Riku said. 

“Riku-” Sora turned to him. Pikachu jumped to Riku’s shoulder and Espeon and Umbreon rushed towards Sora.

“I got Namine. Go.” Riku gave a small smile. “This is your final battle. Make him pay for messing with our memories.” 

**  
When Sora returned, Marluxia and Scyther were gone. Riku was sitting on the floor next to Namine. Pikachu was on his lap and Smeargle and Namine were collaborating over a picture. 

“You got him?” Riku asked. Sora nodded. “Good.” 

“How are you doing?” Sora asked as he got closer. “I know… it’s been hectic and-”

“My memories are fake.” Riku shook his head. “I know nothing of the outside. I know everything that happened in this castle is real, but how I see myself is based on stuff that is not.” He shook his head. “I’ll take care of Namine, but I’ll need some time too. Time to make my own memories.” He got up, and Pikachu climbed up to his shoulder. “I think you wanted to talk to Namine about something?

“Oh, right.” Sora got close. “Can you fix us?”

“of course!” Namine gave a grin through tears. “Your memories were never really gone. And remembering one thing leads to another and another. Like links on a chain. I just have to put the links back together on the chain.”

“OK!” Then Sora paused. “Wait.” He glanced back. “If your memories are fake then-”

“Well, I have to undo what I did. I hide those memories while I restring the others.” 

Smeargle had gone on to make a new painting. All the other pokemon were watching this play out with interest. 

“So, we won’t remember you?” Sora asked.

“I WILL!” Riku shouted from a few feet behind Namine. That caused her to giggle. 

“No, you won’t,” Namine said after she composed herself. “It will take some time, but I know it will work!” She clenched her fists together, then relaxed them. “But, you won’t remember anything that happened here in the castle.”

“Not even you?” Sora asked. She shook her head.

“You have a choice, the memories of the castle, or your old life.” Namine’s voice got soft. 

Sora looked over at Riku.

“Take care of her,” he said. Riku nodded. 

“Oh.” Namine rubbed a tear from her eye. “okay, come this way.” 

She opened a door into a large white room that had several glass pods in it. 

“It can fit your Pokemon too.” She said as she showed one off. “You’ll be asleep the whole time, so you’ll just wake up as if no time has passed. “ 

Smeargle put the art down and went over to her side. Espeon and Umbreon eyed the pod they would share. Kanghaskan poked her own pod, waiting to see if it could fit her.

“How will we thank you?” Donald asked. “For putting us back together!” He got into his pod, Delphox next to him. 

“Gawrsh, there has to be a way.” Goofy frowned. “It wouldn’t be nice to just leave you after doing so much for us.” 

“I know!” Jiminy got out of Sora’s hood and pulled out his giant book. “I’ll write Thank Namine in it!”

“Yeah, that will work.” Sora nodded. He then turned towards Namine. Riku was waiting by the door. Goofy got into his pod, and Kangaskhan got into the one next to him, but not before giving Namine another blanket and a pillow. “Thank you again.”

“Oh.” Namine paused.

“And when I wake up, we’ll be friends again, for real,” Sora said with a sincere smile on his face. Espeon hung his head and walked into the glass container. Umbreon followed. “I promise.”

“You’re going to forget that Promise,” Namine said quietly, her hand half on the switch. 

“You said that the memories are still there, right,” Sora asked as he got into the pod. “So, even if I forget, the memory is still there.” 

“You’re right.” Namine sighed. “I suppose it will be.”

Sora leaned out and held his pinky out. She smiled and linked their pinkies. He retreated into his pod.  
“What about you?” He finally asked. She looked back as the door began to close. 

“You made another promise.” She said. “To someone who’s life I could never replace. Think about the good luck charm. You just thought of her once and all the memories flooded back.” Namine began to blink away tears. “So, just concentrate on that, on your light. It will help flood the dark memories away. Then, when we meet again, you will see me as I am. And you’ll remember me as I truly am. And maybe… we can be friends for real.” 

“Forgotten, but not lost. “ Sora said. Namine nodded and shut the pod. 

“Riku-” She turned around to look at him. “I’m going to be okay but I want to be alone for a bit, I need to concentrate.”

“Okay,” Riku said. Pikachu stayed on his shoulder. “Is there something you want me to do?”

“The actual Riku is here,” Namine said after a moment. “And there are some members of the Organization still around. I don’t think they will hurt me, but I think they will go after the First Riku.” 

“You want me to help him?” Riku asked, and he blinked. “I-” 

“I know it’s not ideal.” She cut him off. “And, I know… I know I’m an echo too. It won’t be easy.” 

“Fine, fine.” Riku sighed. “You’ll lock the door?” 

“I will.” She gave a nod. “Just let me… let me be alone a bit while I work.” She pulled a chair out from the corner and sat down. Riku closed the door behind her, watching Sora and friends sleep without a care in the world.

“Come on, Pikachu,” Riku said as a dark portal opened up before them. “We have a few people we need to talk to.”


	2. CoM Reverse Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reverse Rebirth... WITH POKEMON!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is done... and it took a while but it's here! All 13k+ words of it. And now... (sigh) 358/2. I do hope you like it! 
> 
> Also, my word processor kept on messing up some of my words... like me pressing enter and then I would mess up the formatting and random letters would be deleted. I think I got all of it... but there are a lot of letters here so if I did miss anything I'm sorry.

It didn’t quite feel like he was dead. Or Sleeping. Just… just there. Peaceful, but the slightest edge. Maybe like when Mimikyu grabbed him when he almost drowned. You were safe, but the danger was just there.

“Stay Asleep.” 

Well, that wasn’t Mimikyu.

“Who’s there?” Riku opened his eyes. It was light here, wherever it was.

“You should remain asleep, here between Light and Dark.” The voice said. 

“Between… What?” Riku frowned, then sat up. “Where’s Mimikyu? The King?Teddiursa? We closed the door to Darkness and-”

“You came drifting here by yourself-” The voice started to say, but was cut off by what sounded like an angry strangled cat running its nails on a chalkboard. 

“MIMIKYU!” Riku looked around until he spotted the cloth covered Pokemon at his feet. Dark tendrils came out from it and gave Riku a thumbs up. 

“… by yourself and Mimikyu” the voice admitted after a second. “You did not have the strength to overcome the darkness. Or maybe you were too close to it.” 

“As if I was some sort of demon.” Riku almost rolled his eyes. Mimikyu was already slinking up its pants up to his shoulder. 

“Stay in Darkness. Sleep in safety. Sleep is eternal.”

“What, and give up on finding out what’s under Mimikyu’s cloak?” Riku replied. Mimikyu gave what passed for a giggle. 

“Hmmph.” A card appeared. “This is the door to the truth. Take it, and your sleep ends. Truth is pain, sleep is ignorance. Which do you choose?” 

Mimikyu and Riku reached out for the card at the same time.

“Seems like a boring place to take a nap anyway,” Riku said. Mimikyu gave what may be a nod. 

“Well said.” Light glowed from the card. 

The light opened up into a familiar place. 

“This is… Hollow Bastion.” Riku looked around. Mimikyu crawled over to a corner and tried to check under a small pebble. 

“Not quite.” the voice said. “This is from your memories.” 

“My Memory?” Riku looked around. 

“Yes.” the voice continued. Riku watched as Mimikyu tried to sneak around a pillar and realized it was looking for the voice. “Your memories of the castle were turned into the card, and that card created this place.” 

“and...” Riku asked, trailing off so the voice would answer.

“Normally you would meet people and see things from your memory. Normally.” 

“What do you mean, normally?” Riku shouted. Mimikyu came back over to Riku. The voice did not make a sound. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Still nothing. “Fine.” He muttered. Mimikyu acted as if it was preparing for a battle. “But it better be you I come across next, voice!” 

After a few battles, Riku found himself entering a bedroom. Mimikyu raced across the floor in order to jump on the bed. Riku walked in and ran his fingers along the bookshelves that Maleficent had installed when he arrived. He wasn’t her son, he knew that. But she didn’t need to put in the books. Or Mimikyu’s bed (that Mimikyu never used. Riku’s bed was better) 

Ansem was never here. Then again, there were no windows. He was… cut off really. Either he hung out with the villains or he stayed here with no light. Mimikyu liked it. But Mimikyu was ghost and fairy. Maleficent pointed it out once. That’s why he should trust her. She’s a fairy, like his pokemon. 

“Everything is how I remember it.” He said as he sat down on his bed. Mimikyu crawled into his lap. “Even this room.” 

“it must be nice to be in your old room. All the memories...” The voice cooed. 

“These are memories I could do without. Maleficent gave me this room.” Riku sighed. He noticed a pulled thread on Mimiky’s covering and reached over to find the spare thread. Mimikyu curled up as he rehemmed the cover. 

“So she did.” The voice agreed. “And you lived here, tempted by the darkness she offered. You cast aside everything. No friends, no family, no world, save Mimikyu, but at least you had a nice room. “ 

“Shut up,” Riku said, and finished sewing.

Eventually, he found his way to the main hallway. 

“There’s just heartless here, no people.” He muttered. Mimikyu crawled up on his shoulder and he jumped down to the floor below. “HEY VOICE! WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE HERE?”

“Do you want to see them?” the voice asked.

“You know I do,” Riku replied. 

“But you cast them aside.” The voice continued. “your home, your friends, your family, you cast them all aside in your pursuit of darkness and power.” 

“But I cast that aside too!” Riku reminded the voice. “Except for Mimikyu.”

Mimikyu looked pleased with being the exception.

“So does that make your heart hollow? Do you know how to hold onto anything? All you seem to do is cast things aside.” The voice dropped in pitch. “Except for that residual darkness.”

After more exploring, Riku found himself inside the chapel. He still didn’t know what the word meant, but Maleficent would often have him here if he wasn’t running missions or in his room. The outside of the castle always looked very nice. Maybe he could go back someday, to feel the breeze on him. 

As he looked over, he saw Maleficent’s form standing there, waiting for him. Her pokemon was not with her. 

“You’re alive?” He asked as he ran forward. She may have chuckled, he couldn’t tell.

“Have you been listening? I’m just a figment of your memory.” 

“And it just HAD to be you. No ghost of Sora taunting me over my failures. No other villain. No Ansem. You.” 

“Your heart is steeped in Darkness. You can only see those who are steeped in the same darkness. It is a surprise that you can see anyone at all.”

“Mimikyu. Ghost and Fairy type. Not Dark.” 

Maleficent glared at the pokemon at his feet. Who promptly tilted his head and possibly glared back. It was hard to tell when it’s visible eyes were just marker shapes on his cloth covering. 

“You would be alone.” She said calmly.

“I can be alone, or I can be alone with Mimikyu. And for a time, I wanted you around too. You… you were interesting, and offered help, and seemed to have my best interest at heart. But… but I know now it was all poisonous. I sought the power you offered but it was empty and just hurt others. I emptied myself out for the power and I just became weak instead. I hate the weakness and the people who enslave themselves to it. So, I’ll take all of you out. One by one.” Riku clenched his fists as he glared at her. Mimikyu came up to rest by his feet. Maleficent never had pokemon. Probably a good thing, with how Mimikyu was acting. 

“Then you must destroy the pokemon and yourself last. You are all part of the dark.”

“That’s fine with me. I will destroy the weakness in my heart that I hate. I am my own worse enemy. You and your ilk embracing the darkness just make it worse. Enough talk!” His sword appeared, and Mimikyu raised its hands under its cloak. 

“So you hate the dark enough to fight it? Then let me allow you to join your beloved Mimikyu as you will be a ghost, same as it! AND I SHALL DO IT WITH THE DARKNESS!” Maleficent slammed her staff into the floor and turned into a dragon. It wasn’t enough to stop Riku though, and after a few minutes, he walked out from the castle he knew, into a set of passageways he did not.

 

“Why do you shun the darkness?” A deep voice asked as Riku left the room into a hallway of pure white, Mimikyu trailing behind him. 

“Mimikyu, we have an eavesdropper,” Riku said calmly. “Someone is being rude.”

“Darkness is your weapon, You must learn to accept it.” The voice continued as if he hadn’t heard Riku. 

“What do you mean?” Ask Riku. 

“Accept the Darkness. You have no choice.” The shadows from the corners of the room rushed to the middle and coalesced into the form of a man. “IF YOU ARE TO SERVE ME AGAIN!” 

“Where’s Dehlmise,” Riku asked in a flat tone of voice. 

“You aren’t surprised? And as I still lack a more physical form, Dehlmise is not here.”

“All you are talking about is how powerful Darkness is. You just want another chance at a puppet.” Mimikyu pulled itself in front of Riku and threateningly tilted it’s head as if its neck was broken. 

“Clever boy. I knew you would be the most appropriate to serve me, and now, SURRENDER TO ME AGAIN!” Ansem threw his hand out, allowing dark tendrils to appear. 

“NO!” Riku pulled out his sword and swung it as he ran forward. The sword hit Ansem’s hand it blew him back. Mimikyu grabbed him before he hit the wall. 

“Did you really think you could harm me?” Ansem asked. Mimikyu kept eyeing the dark tendrils that appeared from Ansem. “You couldn’t even harm Sora and you were FILLED with my power then!”

“Well, excuse me for being weak,” Riku replied as he stood up. Mimikyu’s hands reached out from under his cloak and helped pull him up. 

“You ARE weak! You need Darkness.” Ansem strode forward. Riku prepared himself for the attack. “SURRENDER AND BOW TO ME!” 

“NO!” Riku shouted again. “THAT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN!” 

“only Darkness can offer you all the strength that you need,” Ansem said as he reached out. 

“YOU’RE WRONG!” Two spheres of Light appeared before Riku, then burst out. Surrounding him in light that drove Ansem back. Mimikyu’s hands disappeared under his garment and he fled behind Riku. 

“Your Majesty? Teddiursa?” Riku asked as he squinted towards the light.

“That’s right. Riku, even without Mimikyu, you are never alone.” The light said and flew into his chest. 

“The light won’t give up on you.” It didn’t say that, exactly. But Riku felt it. Warmth spread through his being. A true light, different from the cold harshness of the light of this castle. “You’ll always find it, even in the deepest darkness.”

“I got it,” Riku whispered. Mimikyu gave him a thumbs up from his right. “I won’t lose to the darkness, NOT TODAY!”

“YOU THINK THAT FEEBLE LITTLE LIGHT CAN SAVE YOU!” Ansem said as he tried not to act like a glowing ball just fought him back. “I COMMAND THE DARKNESS AND IT WILL CONTROL YOUR VERY BONES!” 

“Give me what you got, I’ll give it right back!” Riku charged. But before he could attack, Ansem held out a cart. 

“What is that?”

“It’s clear you are not open to my ideas. Here. This will let you go forward in the castle. IT is crafted from your memories. Through it, you will realize-” Ansem stopped and grinned “There is no running from the darkness.” 

“Then give it” Ansem threw it, and Riku caught it. “Let me go through this darkness. I won’t fall to it and in the end, you shall see that I’ll win.”

“One more thing.” Ansem made a gesture with his hand and the cold darkness hardened in Riku’s veins. If Mickey’s light wasn’t in his heart, who knew what would happen. He fell to the ground slightly and Mimikyu wrapped him up in his arms, trying to keep him upright.

“What did you do?” He hissed. Mimikyu also made a hissing sound. 

“I simply tempered the darkness in your heart,” Ansem smirked.

“You think I’d use it?” Riku hissed. Mimikyu got in front of Riku again.

“To use it or not, is up to you,” Ansem replied, and disappeared.  
***  
Zexion waited down below. His Mismagius hovered behind him, trying to read the letters he kept in the Lexicon. As they both waited, a dark portal opened up. It revealed the tall form of Lexaeus and his Boldore. 

“Don’t I even warrant a hello, Lexaeus?” Zexion asked. Before Lexaeus could respond, Vexen and his Cryogonal appeared in the basement too. 

“What is going on here, Zexion? I want an explanation.” Vexen demanded. His Cryogonal swirled around behind him. 

“Nice to see you too, Vexen,” Zexion replied. Vexen could never tell if he was being sarcastic or not. “What a shame. The Organization used to be the rope that bound us together.” 

“How DARE you!” Vexen almost hissed. Cryogonal began to dart around in apparent agreement. “You are number 6!” At this, Mismagius glared and raised one of its ghostly hands. 

“Quiet,” Lexaeus stated. They all fell silent. Mismagius fell back under Boldore’s glare. “Zexion, what did you detect?” 

“Visitors. I picked up several scents in the lowest basement.” Mismagius glanced at Zexion’s thinking position and began to add the appearance to the scenes. A few shadows, but one of them was distinct. “One of them was Maleficent.” Maleficent’s silhouette gained color. She had no pokemon with her. 

“Don’t be absurd, the witch is dead.” Vexen sniffed. “She cannot return from the dead of her own volition.” 

“IF you would let me finish.” Zexion continued. He may be soft spoken, but the slightest change in emphasis and people knew what he meant. Or they just looked at Mismagius. “The scent did not belong to her, but to a very convincing double. I can say no more because she’s gone. Our other visitor saw to that.”

“And who is it?” Lexaeus asked. Boldore backed up so he could get a better look. 

“I don’t know,” Zexion admitted. “But it’s scent was very similar to that of The Superior.” 

“And yet.” Vexen mused. “not exactly the same, was it?”

Zexion nodded. Mismagius mimicked it as it got close to Cryogonal. Boldore went back to sulking. While Mismagius was a ghost type, and Cryogonal could float, Boldore was stuck walking on the ground. 

“This piques my curiosity,” Vexen muttered. Cryogonal went down to examine the illusions that Mismagius kept up. Maleficent’s did nothing but slowly spin. 

“Now, what to do...” Zexion muttered as he also distractedly looked at the illusions.

“We wait, and see what develops,” Lexaeus said in his deep voice. They all fell silent at that.

***  
Riku stopped as he got to the top of the steps. He glanced around, sniffing. Mimikyu tilted his head as he looked at Riku. 

“What’s that smell? It’s so familiar...” He muttered. His eyes then suddenly opened wide. “Darkness. I smell like Darkness. I can’t believe it. It’s even seeped into my skin...” He trailed off, Mimikyu decided now would be the time to try to drag him forward. 

“Don’t worry, Riku!” A light orb appeared and turned into the form of the small mouse king and the bear pokemon about his size. 

“Your Majesty?” Riku asked, and the smallest smile began to appear on his face. “What happened? I can see right through you.”

He was also intangible, as Mimikyu kept on trying to poke Teddiursa, but his dark ghost hands kept on going through the light. 

“Funny, huh. I can only send a bit of my power to this place.” King Mickey explained. “That’s why I have a request for you.”

“Request?”

“I… I need you to fight the darkness inside of you. I know it’s deep and dark, and you feel lonely and that you think everyone has abandoned you Aq- Riku.” He seemed to catch himself. “But now this. No matter how deep the darkness, there is always light.”

“Light within… Darkness...” He mused. He glanced at Mimikyu who seemed to shake his head. 

“We saw it, at Kingdom Hearts.” Riku reminded him. “It will show you the way. So, don’t give up. I’ll find some way to reach you. I promise” 

Riku tried to shake Mickey’s hand, but like with Mimikyu before, he just went straight through. 

“You’re just an illusion.” He reminded himself. 

“Don’t worry. We shook hands in our hearts.” Mickey replied. “We have an unbreakable connection.”

“I guess we do,” Riku said as Mickey and Teddiursa vanished. With a small smile, he glanced at Mimikyu.

“Come on, let’s see what world’s next.” 

**

Zexion glanced at Mismagius, who nodded, and then Zexion spoke up. 

 

“I have identified the scent,” Zexion said. “It is that of Riku” 

At this Mismagius added an illusion of Riku to his current group of illusions of those who were currently in the castle. 

Vexen looked up, his Cryogonal had stopped hovering and rested in the hood of his cloak.

“Riku you say. He’s escaped from the realm of Darkness?” Vexen asked.

“He was once possessed by a being similar to the superior,” Zexion explained. 

“Fascinating. That is why you thought it was similar to The Superior.” Vexen mused. “I wonder if his connection is what gave him the ability to escape?”

Lexaeus said nothing but watched. As strong as he was, his Boldore was a concentrated 225 pounds of rock in a three-foot body. He could not hold it. 

“I want to know why he is here in the castle,” Zexion asked. 

“That’s simple.” Vexen replied casually. “his existence resonated with someone else in the castle.”

Upon hearing that, Mismagius updated the list of people in the castle. All the Org members, Riku, and then Sora, Donald, and Goofy were added. That was Marluxia’s plot. Zexion and Lexaeus were to watch the events unfold. 

“I did not realize Sora was in the castle already,” Zexion replied. 

“He arrived a bit earlier,” Vexen explained. “Marluxia is already using Namine’s unique powers to meddle with Sora’s heart.”

“Without even bothering to consult us,” Zexion responded half sarcastically. The Organization had to know that sending multiple schemers and planners to here would end badly. Why did they do that? Marluxia was so new to be given so much power. He was called the cloaked schemer and Axel’s loyalties were perpetually in flux. 

Vexen’s Cryogonal landed on his arm. “It seems he is desperate to have Sora’s keyblade powers for himself.” Vexen sighed. “What a foolish plan. Sora does not have an interesting existence. But the one with an interesting fate is Riku… Riku is the hero of darkness.”   
***  
Riku and Mimikyu left the next floor. Mimikyu was holding onto the sewing kit that Riku had managed to take from the illusion of his room. Aside from a general need to keep his cloth neat, needles could be used to stab anyone who got too close. 

Riku stopped as soon as he got out and stared across the way. Mimikyu almost bumped into him. Mimikyu peered out and then hid behind Riku again. By the stairs was a blond man dressed in a black cloak with a Cryogonal floating behind him. 

“I take it you’re Riku.” The man said. 

“Huh?” Riku blinked. “Are you with Ansem?”

The man took on a thoughtful expression. “You are half correct.” He said finally. “He both is and is not the Ansem with which you are familiar. Maybe the correct term to use would be “Nobody.” 

“Riddles aren’t my thing. Try again.” The Cryogonal left the man to hover by a decoration, almost half asleep. 

“Fine. He walks neither the light or Darkness, but walks the twilight in between.” 

Riku took a step back. Mimikyu took the chance to flee to the side where there was cover. Ghost-like hands came from underneath the cloth and pulled out the longest needle in the pack. 

“Ah, you understand.” The man almost giggled. “Yes, you also stand between the light and the darkness! It appears we have much in common.” 

Riku gritted his teeth and pulled out Souleater. “So what! Like you said, there is Darkness in me, but Darkness is my enemy! And so do you of reeking of it!” Riku rushed forward, and Mimikyu waited for a chance that never came. 

When the fight finished, the man started laughing. “I find coursing through you a darkness of considerable power growing!” He said. Riku gritted his teeth as Mimikyu snuck up on the man from the back, the needle still in his hand. 

“WELL worth the trouble of aggravating you.” The man continued. “All this excitement has allowed me valuable data!” Riku tried to stab him, as Mimikyu mimicked him. The man pushed Riku back with the shield and still did not see Mimikyu. “Many thanks, Riku!” And he disappeared. 

Riku sighed and sat down on the floor. Mimikyu put the needle away and crawled over to where Riku was. Riku rested his head on Mimikyus for a second.

“It was all a trick.” He said softly. Mimikyu tilted his head. After a moment of Riku approximating petting Mimikyu, he got up and sent on to the next room.   
***  
Lexaeus and his Boldore stayed in the basement, Boldore were cave creatures anyway. And Zexion always had trouble fighting. 

“What’s happening to Sora.” Lexaeus finally said. Zexion looked over. 

“Namine’s powers are being used to shuffle his memory as we speak,” Zexion explained. Mismagius’ illusions had updated themselves some time ago to account for all known entities in the castle and who they were most likely physically near. Vexen was the only one who shifted groups, but he also went on his own a lot. “Marluxia may well succeed in getting his puppet. Sora would be a valuable asset to the organization. But Marluxia and Larxene’s actions make me uneasy.” 

He and Lexaeus both frowned. 

“Because of Roxas?” Lexaeus finally asked. Zexion nodded. 

“Sora and Roxas are nobodies. Why bring him into the Organization? There is a high chance they could recomplete and leave. Even if Namine makes him believe a different reality.”

“And then there is Axel. Who knows what that one is thinking.” Lexaeus said. Why did none of them have a furry pokemon? Axel’s Houndoom was a great height to absently scratch or pet as you thought about things. 

“Vexen should take care of this,” Zexion said after a moment. “His Replica program should soon be complete.” 

“But Vexen despises Marluxia. Think of the mess it would make.” Lexaeus replied in an almost bored tone of voice. 

“So, we must tell him. Isn’t it better for Vexen to clean up the mess than leave it to us?”   
**  
“The last card,” Riku said as he looked at the door. “What do you think will happen after this?” 

Mimikyu did not respond, other than a shrug. Riku squared his shoulders and raised the last card.   
**  
Riku left the floor and found himself looking at himself, but without Mimikyu. 

“Who are you supposed to be?” He asked. His other self gave a small chuckle. 

“Surprised? I guess you should be. I look just like you.” 

Riku glanced back at Mimikyu, then back at this other. Everyone had a pokemon. Where was this guy? Would it be Mimikyu or something else? He was the only one who could have this Mimikyu. 

“I’ll tell you what I am.” It continued. “I’m a Replica. An EXACT Replica that Vexen made from that data he gathered from you.” 

“So, you’re a fake.” Riku crossed his arms. “He doesn’t even have a pokemon, Mimikyu.” 

“I’m NOT a fake!” It yelled. “I don’t care if you’re REAL! You’re not better! We may share the same body and talents but there is one way to tell us apart.” It, he, pulled out an exact copy of souleater and pointed it at Riku. “Unlike you, I fear nothing.” 

“Are you calling me a coward?” Riku asked. Mimikyu got off and tried to pull up a chunk of the floor to throw at the replica, but no go. 

“You’re afraid of the dark!” The replica said in a half-mocking tone. “The darkness inside of you frightens you, no matter what you say. “

Riku gritted his teeth. If he was more like Ansem, maybe he would have hissed or bared his teeth. 

“But I’M different.” The replica said in the same tone of voice Riku used to use on Sora when they fought on Destiny Islands. Over food or talking to Kairi or the boat or over the keyblade later. 

“I EMBRACE the darkness. I can make it do whatever I want!” The darkness engulfed him, revealing the outfit he used when Ansem was possessing him. Riku glared at that outfit too. There were too many memories there, bad ones. Up until he was fully possessed and he had no memories of that until he met Mickey in the realm of Darkness. “So, I CAN WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU!” 

IT didn’t take long before Repliku was kneeling on the floor in front of Riku, out of breath. Mimikyu was off on the side, waving his hands as if he was cheering. 

“Don’t forget, I’m still new.” The Replica said as it began to stand up. “I’ll keep getting stronger and stronger. Next time we fight, you’re through!”   
“Why don’t we fight now.’ Riku taunted, his own blade pointed at the replica’s head. The replica flung Riku back with some dark energy. Riku fell to the floor but managed to slowly push himself up. 

“It’s nice having the darkness on my side.” The replica said from his position. Mimikyu tried again to pull up some title. “You are so missing out. How can you be scared of something so THRILLING!” 

“ENOUGH!” Riku finally got up and charged at the Replica. It just laughed and dodged. 

“So now the real thing is playing tough. So long, Real thing. I hope you don’t miss me.” It taunted, then ran off to the next floor. 

“I’m not a coward,” Riku muttered as he stared at the stairway. Mimikyu abandoned its plans to stab the replica with a tile in order to pat Riku then crawl up to him. Riku absently pet the cloth. “I’m not. 

***  
The replica appeared in the Basement center of operations. The Basement trio and their pokemon were waiting for him.

“So, how was the real thing?” Vexen asked. He had a notebook out and a pen. 

“He’s spineless.” The replica boasted. “In no time at all, I’ll be better than he is.” 

“In the meantime,” Vexen said as he scribbled stuff down. Cryognal floated lazily around the room. “Would you like to meet someone else in this castle who’s considered a hero?”

“You mean Sora.” The replica stated. “I hear he is in the castle. Do you want me to take care of him?”   
Lexaeus, Zexion, and their pokemon watched this whole scene as if it were a chess game. Each face neutral. Each mind absorbing everything. 

“I intend to make good use of you.” Vexen decided upon saying. 

“No worries. Even with their pokemon, they won’t be a match for me. Riku wasn’t, and Sora won’t be either.” The Replica grinned. 

**  
Upon arriving at the next floor, Mimikyu began to hiss. 

“SHOW YOURSELF FAKE!” Riku shouted. 

“Fake, I don’t know if that is exactly the right word.” Ansem appeared, still without his Dhelmise. 

“What are you saying. Isn’t he just a copy of me?” Riku asked. Mimikyu began to crawl up Riku’s leg to get to his perch on Riku’s shoulder. 

“More like a model,” Ansem replied and began to move forward, ever so slightly. He raised his hand in a gesture. “He is an example of what you should try to be. He accepts the darkness...just like you once couldn't help but accept me. But now you are afraid. Perhaps YOU are the one who is being fake.” Ansem turned suddenly and pointed at Riku. “Fake when you pretend to have no fear.”

“When have I ever been afraid of the dark?” Riku asked in a mocking tone. 

“In the card worlds-” Ansem said as he fiddled with a card. “You grappled desperately with the darkness inside you.” Mimikyu tilted its head. “Desperation is fear. You fight the darkness because it’s what frightens you.” 

“I-” Riku winced. “BE QUIET!” 

Mimikyu pulled out things from under his cloak, but Riku had already charged. He didn’t get far before Ansem caught the edge of the blade and flicked Riku backward. Mimikyu caught him in its dark tendrils before Riku hit the wall. Mimikyu set Rku down, and Riku glared at Ansem. Ansem flicked a card at Riku. Riku caught it. 

“Stubborn Boy. Then continue your fight if you must. Eventually, you will learn. You can not resist darkness.” 

Mimikyu shook his dark fist at Ansem as Ansem disappeared. Riku just turned to the door.  
***  
Axel didn’t even turn around as the dark portal opened. He still sat, staring at the crystal ball, and pet Houndoom. Larxene and Galvantula were there too, waiting.

“How can we help you, Vexen? It’s not often we see you topside.” Axel said in a bored tone. Namine sketched with Smeargle, trying to cut out the conversation. 

Vexen and Cryognal appeared. “I came to lend you a hand” Vexen explained. “You obviously believe this Sora has much potential, but I remained unconvinced he is worth such coddling.” Cryogonal nodded beside Vexen. “I think an experiment would show if he is of any value to us.”

Larxene looked up from where she was with Galvantula. “Hmph. Where here we go again. It’s just an excuse for you to carry out your little experiments, that’s all.” She rolled her eyes and tried to grab Axel’s attention. Axel focused on Vexen, and what was behind him. Namine curled up and covered her ears. 

“I’m a SCIENTIST. Experiments are what I do.” Vexen explained in a tone as chilly as his cryogonal. Houndoom turned to glare at them, Axel still pet him distractedly. 

“Whatever,” Axel said in a bored tone without turning to look at Vexen. “You can do what you want. I think this is just a cover for you to test your Valet.” 

“Valet?” Vexen said in a tone of horror. “He is the product of pure research!” 

“What he actually is, is a toy,” Larxene said as she walked over, her Galvantula followed behind her. 

“You should just learn to be quiet.” Vexen snapped. His Cryogonal swirled around him and Galvantula bared it’s bug fangs. 

“You’ll need this.” Axel – still not looking – threw Vexen a card, which Vexen caught. “A humble gift to my elder.” He said in a tone that Vexen couldn’t tell was bored or sarcastic. “I hope you can put it to good use.”   
“I shall also need his Pokemon,” Vexen said, a card in his hand. “Namine?” 

“I wasn’t able to get a good look at it, but I think it’s a Pikachu,” Namine said as she turned the notebook over. Sora’s last memory of Riku was him silhouetted in a door with the unmistakable shadow of Pikachu by his ankle. The legs seemed a bit weird and blurry, but everything about the scene was a bit rushed.   
“Good. Stall him while I get one.” Vexen said as he left. Riku Replica took that time to walk into the conversation. 

“I don’t want a pokemon and what good will that card do?” Repliku half asked, half taunted. “It’s just a card of memories.” 

Larxene smirked by her Galvantula. “With a little help from Namine, you’ll have all the real Riku’s memories. Between Namine’s help and the pokemon, I’m sure we can make you forget your’ nothing but a fake. Then your heart will be exactly like the real Riku, ‘kay?” Galvantula skitted around, but Larxene ignored it. 

Repliku gasped and glanced back at Namine, who buried her face into Smeargle’s fur. 

“You want to remake my heart?” He yelled. “The real Riku is a wimp who’s AFRAID of the dark. What do I want with a heart of a loser?” 

“Any objections, Vexen?” Larxene called over her shoulder. Vexen reappeared, holding a Pokeball and a map while frowning. “After all, you do want to test Sora, don’t you?” 

“It must be done,” Vexen said as he looked up from the map, the looked back down at it. 

Repliku turned on his heel to glare at Vexen. “HOW CAN YOU? Are you BETRAYING me?” 

“I said I would make good use of you, didn’t I?” Vexen said casually as Cryogonal flew over the map, looking for places where Pikachu lived. 

“No.” Riku balled up his hands. 

“Relax, Kiddo.” Larxene sighed, then went back to petting her Galvantula. Axel was watching everything, but also kept an eye on the crystal ball with Sora. Hound doom’s fur was getting slightly staticky with all the petting Axel had done. “I don’t think it will hurt that much.” 

“I’LL HURT YOU!” Repliku barrelled into Larxene and flew off as Lightning coated her body Galvantula came down from its perch and poked the dizzy and wincing Repliku. Namine Curled up in a ball, Smeargle covering her ears as she kept her eyes shut.

“Stupid little toy,” Larxene muttered. “You think you could defeat me? Where would you ever get a thought like that!” Repliku tried to stand up and swayed. He grasped his sword tighter. “But, look on the bright side. Along with everything else in your head, Namine will erase the memory of me knocking you flat! Instead, she’ll implant the loveliest little memories you could ever hope for. It’s no big deal that they are all lies.”

“Larxene-” Axel started to say but was cut off. 

Repliku had pressed himself against the wall. “NOO!!!”

*  
Sometime later, Namine sat, facing a wall. Larxene came over, her galvantula following her. 

“Why so glum, Namine? Is there something troubling you? Are you feeling awful about tinkering with Sora’s memory or maybe you-” 

“Cut it out Larxene.” Repliku strode into the room, a slightly dazed Pikachu following at his heels. “Namine doesn’t want to remember Sora.” 

“Is that so?” Larxene asked. Galvantula skitted around a bit. Smeargle was hiding under Namine’s seat. He tried to turn around and ended up accidentally turning the chair so Namine faced towards Repliku. 

“Don’t worry.” Repliku knelt in front of Namine. “Whatever’s hurting you, Pikachu and I will stop it.” Pikachu jumped up on Riku’s shoulder so he could nuzzle Namine’s cheek. Repliku took out her good luck charm.

“I swear it on the good luck charm you gave me.” He said, and then he got up and walked out. 

“That’s… amazing.” Larxene said. “It’s like you completely made his heart from scratch. Nice touch with the good luck charm.” She sat down and Galvantula crawled into her lap. “I didn’t know you could use memories to transform objects like cards into keepsakes. You used the same trick on Sora, right? You changed Kairi’s good luck charm with your magic, didn’t you.” Larxene happily scratched Galvantula under their chin. “It won’t be long before Sora forgets Kairi completely! And then he’ll be all yours to-” 

“He won’t forget.” Namine finally spoke. Smeargle decided to crawl into her lap too. 

“Huh?”

No matter how much I change his memory… Sora won’t forget Kairi.” She buried her face into Smeargle’s fur. “Memories of me... MORE false memories of me… will just make his feelings for Kairi even stronger than before. Because… Because I’m the shadow of Kairi.” 

“And what’s your problem with that.” Larxene leaned over Galvantula, her fist under her chin. “That should be your incentive not to screw anything up. Just do a good job rewriting Sora’s heart.” Larxene pushed Galvantula up, got up, and stretched. “Then you can actually be somebody. And no longer just in Kairi’s shadow. You’ll be real in Sora’s heart.” Larxene came over and patted Namine’s cheek.  
**  
Mismagius began to fret. Lexaeus watched it, sitting as he polished his own Boldore.

“Vexen is no more.” He said calmly. Zexion nodded.

“Yes, his scent is no more. Axel struck him down – something I find deplorable.” He paused and raised his hand. Mismagius came down to grasp at his hand with its ghostly ones. “Agents of the Organization striking each other down...”

“Our problem is Sora,” Lexaeus said as he turned his attention to his own Pokemon. “Vexen proved to be no match for him, yet he’s still under Namine’s control.” 

Zexion turned. “But we can not eliminate Sora, can we?”

“Correct.” Lexaeus looked up. “For our Superior is in dire need of the Hero of Light. When Light loses sight of its path, we may find a use for the dark. What we must do… is Obtain Darkness.”

Mismagius conjured up an image. Zexion gave a nod. 

“Riku, of course.” He glanced at Lexaeus, who nodded.   
***  
Riku entered yet another white corridor. He held out a card, with one final world on it. 

“Just one card left. If I get through this, will I be free of the darkness?” 

Mimikyu made certain, unimpressed and slightly insulted, sounds. Riku bent down and patted him on his head. “Aside from you, of course.” 

Mimikyu gave a nod and led Riku to the door.  
**  
Riku walked out of the door and stopped as he held his nose. Mimikyu tilted his head next to him.

“That scent.” Riku winced. “you’re another one of those nobodies.” 

Across from him was, there was no other word for it, a giant. Twice his height, broad as a barn, and face made out of stone with hair that looked like magma. Next to him was a Boldore that went up past his knees. 

“You’ve done well thus far.” The man intoned as Riku made his way to the middle where he stood. “But to possess your powers, and yet you fear the Darkness. What a waste.” The man shook his head.

“I do not fear it!” Riku said as he gestured to Mimikyu, who looked back in confusion. 

“I sense that you do.” The man said. “You are also capable of controlling the darkness. Cast away your useless fear. Open your heart. EMBRACE the darkness!” The man sounded passionate at least. 

“And if I say no?” Riku summoned his sword. 

“Then you lose both light and darkness, and Disappear.” Boldore scuttled away as he made a move as if he was moving into a wrestling pose, seeking a foundation in the earth itself. A Red and black aura surrounded him and pushed on Riku who struggled to stand up against it. Mimikyu used it’s dark and ghostly arms to try to hold onto Riku. But soon it had to give up and deliberately dropped back to the wall. 

“I, Lexaeus, will not yield to the frail heart of an infantile coward!” Lexaeus shouted. “Now, stop resisting, and LET THE DARKNESS IN!” 

Even if Mimikyu or Boldore wanted to help, they couldn’t. Riku and Lexaeus fought fiercely, and at the end, it was only due to exhaustion that the fight stopped. Both were panting heavily, and Riku managed to stand up first. Gulping back air, he charged at Lexaeus

“You’re finished!” He shouted. 

“DON’T MOCK ME!” Lexaeus shouted back and swung his ax. Before Mimikyu could grab him, Riku was flung up into the ceiling. Boldore went back to his place by Lexaeus’ feet. Mimikyu got in front of the knocked out Riku, ready to protect him, but suddenly scampered back a bit and pulled out shadowy claws. 

“You were too much trouble,” Lexaeus muttered as he started to walk towards Riku, but stopped as darkness began to overtake Riku and a dark shape appeared. Something like an anchor covered in seaweed.

Dhelmise. 

Mimikyu hissed and tried to grab onto Riku with his long and shadowy claws. But Dehlmise swung around and knocked Mimikyu away. Mimikyu hit the wall of the room as Boldore tried to get in front of Lexaeus, who was too distracted by Dehlmise to see Riku rise up. 

And then, it was over. A pain in his stomach as he doubled over as darkness began to overwhelm him.

“Too slow,” the non-Riku said, and Lexaeus knew everything. 

“You are the superiors...” He said, and then made a portal at his feet. With the last of his strength, he grabbed Boldore and dropped him into the portal. He could not watch. 

“Forgive me, Zexion,” Lexaeus said softly as he faded away. “This was a fight I should not have started.”  
**  
Riku was alone in the dark.

The last time he was like this was right before Mimikyu found him. Or was it when Ansem tried to boot him from his own body. 

Where was Mimikyu? 

“I see you now, clearly.” 

Well, that wasn’t Mimikyu. 

Riku opened his eyes. “Huh? Lexaeus?”

“Riku… I can see your heart...” 

“No.” Riku began to flail around in the darkness, seeking anything solid. Or Mimikyu’s dark hands. He could not find them. “It’s not… Darkness this foul could only… only be-” Riku convulsed and grabbed his head. He pulled on his own hair, anything to keep him from saying the name.

“That’s it… remember me… let me drift into your heart...” 

Then, as if it was pulled from his mouth “ANSEM!” 

A laugh, a familiar laugh that chilled him to the bone as memories crawled through his skull. Memories of horrible acts and of watching his body act once he let darkness come in. Mimikyu was always against him interacting with Ansem and Maleficent, and he should have listened. 

“You called out my name,” Ansem said. “You have been thinking about me…. you’re afraid of the darkness I command.” Riku felt as if Ansem was smiling. “Good… the more you think of me… the closer my return draws. And when I have awoken, I will take hold...”

He appeared in the darkness. Riku couldn’t help but look at him. The last time he had seen him, he and Mimikyu were kicked to the darkness for trying to stop him. He looked so whole.

“YOUR HEART WILL BE MINE!” Ansem grinned and reached out, Riku wasn’t sure if it was to strangle him or to take his heart. But before he could do anything, a flash of light in the form of a sphere appeared. 

“Riku, fight! Don’t let him win!” A familiar voice rang out, then disappeared. 

“Your majesty?” Riku asked. The sphere came back and turned into a see-through form of Mickey Mouse. Mickey spread his arms and glared at Ansem. 

“YOU MEDDLESOME KING,” Ansem yelled, but Mickey’s light pulled him from there. The next thing he knew he was back in the castle. Mimikyu was poking him, but other than that, no one was around.

“Mimikyu?” Riku asked. Mimikyu jumped and climbed up on him. Riku stroked the top of Mimikyu’s head for a bit. 

“The king… he protected me.” He told Mimikyu. Mimikyu tilted its head, and Riku realized no one else was around. “Your Majesty? Where are you? Please answer?” Riku stood up, and Mimikyu crawled up to his shoulder. Riku touched his heart. 

“You’re with me, aren’t you.”   
**  
Mismagius erased something as Zexion watched.

“Lexaeus is gone as well.” He said softly. He didn’t turn as the sound of darkness came from behind him.

“Vexen, Larxene, Lexaeus… I wonder who will be next in line?” 

“I thought it might be you. Though Houndoom’s scent gave some of it away.” Zexion turned around. Axel had a few cuts on his face, and was a bit drawn, but looked fine other than that. Though Zexion wasn’t sure him leaning on Houndoom was a quirk or him trying to hide his pain. 

“Me? No way. I already took my pounding from Sora. He thinks I’m done for good.” Axel gave a cocky grin. “Nope, I think it’ll be Marluxia next. For defying the organization and targeting Sora. I hope he moves exactly as his heart commands him to. So, what about you? I thought you had a plan for Riku.” Axel went back to scratching houndoom behind his ears, his eyes narrowed as he watched Zexion. 

“Yes, we were going to set him off against the traitors… but with Marluxia gone, there is no more need. He is nothing but a nuisance now.” 

“And he’s dangerous, as well. After all, he took down Lexaeus.”

Zexion got the distinct impression Axel was testing him on something, but he didn’t know what. Did Axel know something he didn’t? Probably. Axel spent a lot of time organizing what people knew. So, was this a trap? 

“You know that is not how I do things. Tell me, did you obtain the data on Riku’s home?”   
**  
Mimikyu was still on Riku’s shoulders as he entered the next room. The castle shook and Riku let out a gasp as it settled. 

“One of the strong scents died?” Riku asked as he looked up. “What-” But then darkness sounded. Riku turned and saw a man, just a few years older than him, standing on top of the stairs with a Mismagius behind him. 

“I am Zexion. The keeper of this castle, Marluxia, has just been felled by the keyblade master.” The man intoned. Riku blinked, then tried to run towards him. But before he did so, he grabbed Mimikyu from his shoulder and held him to his chest. 

“Keyblade, Sora? You mean Sora is here?”   
“Yes,” Zexion said. “Want to see him? But… can you face him?” The Mismagius cast an illusion of Sora standing next to Riku. He had Espeon and Umbreon playing at his feet. Next to him, laughing at the pokemon, was Kairi with Floette on her shoulder. 

“What’s that mean?” Riku asked, eyes riveted on the now fading scene.

“The world of Darkness, and Ansem’s shadow, still nest within your heart.” 

Mismagius made another illusion, Ansem where Sora and Kairi used to be. His Dhelmise hovered threateningly behind him. Mimikyu made an angry sound from his position where Riku held him.

“Do you plan to face Sora like that? Are you not ashamed?” Zexion continued. Riku squeezed Mimikyu tighter and looked away.

“Sora’s fight is to battle the darkness. He must oppose anyone who hosts the dark… in other words, it’s you.” Zexion said, a tone in his voice. “If you don’t believe the words I say...” Zexion tossed a card to Riku. “Then you had best see the truth with your own eyes.” 

“This card? It’s” He looked at the very familiar island on the sea.

“Yes, it is your home,” Zexion said as he nodded. Then Zexion and Mismagius disappeared. 

“Well, Mimikyu… time to go.” Riku said, then he walked to the door and held the card up.  
**

 

 

Riku found himself sitting on the Paopu tree. Mimikyu had crawled into his lap again and he looked out over the ocean.

“Never thought I’d miss the island winds so much… there was a time I couldn’t wait to get off this rock. “ He chuckled and looked down at a contented Mimikyu. “And now I’m acting all relieved. 

He leaned back and something caught his eye. Or some people.   
“Is that… HEY!” He picked up Mimikyu and slid off the tree. Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka turned round, blank-faced.

“What’s with you guys? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the three of you so quiet.”

They said nothing.   
“… where are your Pokemon?” He asked, looking down at their feet. No Passiminion, no Tirtuga, no komala.   
“Guys?”

The three disappeared. Riku pet the top of Mimikyu’s head and began to explore. 

He didn’t need to go far as the Paopu tree drew his attention. He felt, rather than saw, Kairi there and turned around so he could see her.

“KAIRI!” Riku grinned. “Hey, Kairi! Are you-” But she disappeared. 

“No!” Riku reached out to where she stood. But nothing. 

“Surely you knew this would happen.” Zexion and Mismagius appeared. Mimikyu hissed at Mismaggius. Or rather, the Mimikyu version of a hiss. 

“How should I know!” Riku shouted back. 

“You’ve been to a number of worlds in your memory before this one. And in those worlds, you met only dark beings – and I’m not including Mimikyu – because that’s all that’s left in your heart. Dark memories. Your memories of home are gone, each and everyone.” Zexion grinned. Mismagius mimicked it. 

“That’s a lie! I remember everyone from the islands! Tidus and Selphie and Wakka! Kairi and Sora too! And all their pokemon!” Riku clenched his hands. “They’re my.. my” Riku glanced down and saw Mimikyu in front of him as if to protect him. “My closest friends. 

“And who threw away those friends? Maybe it’s your own actions that you’ve forgotten.” Zexion waved his hand behind him. “YOU DESTROYED YOUR HOME!” 

Riku had never really paid attention to what had happened. He had been too caught up in the memories of the brown haired boy and the voice telling him what to do. He really should have listened to Mimikyu trying to warn him. Either way, lightning flashed and rain poured down from the sky. An image of Riku stood on the edge of the island, with a ghostly Mimikyu fretting beside him. This is… that night...” Riku whispered as he looked around. The wind pulled at the trees, threatening to pull them up by the roots. 

“All of the islands you grew up on were sundered, scattered.” Zexion began to walk around, gesturing at the damage. Mismagius followed behind him, creating images of crying villagers or heartless trying to eat them. “Many hearts were forever lost to the darkness. Because of what YOU did!” Zexion pointed at the Riku again, who began to move. 

“You hated being an islander, so you opened the door to darkness and destroyed the islands. It was YOU! You were pulled into the darkness, then” Zexion stopped and reached out towards Riku, his hand cupped as if receiving something. “And now you belong to the darkness.” 

Riku put his hand over his heart. He began to shudder as Zexion’s truth washed over him. Mimikyu was in front of him, ghostly arms spread as it glared at Zexion. 

“You should look, look at what you truly are!” Zexion shouted, and the ghostly Riku turned into a Darkside. It roared as it grew, the islands falling under its footsteps. 

“This… this can’t be who I really am.” Riku whispered, and then attacked. 

When the heartless was destroyed, Riku finally got to look around. He now saw Sora by the sea. But he couldn’t see Espeon or Umbreon there. 

“Sora?” Riku asked as he walked closer to him. Mimikyu had fled during the battle and was hiding under a rock’s shadow. “Sora, it’s me.” Sora turned around and swung at Riku, who just barely managed to dodge it. Sora!” Riku continued to dodge Sora’s swings, but then managed to pull out Soul eater and blocked the next swing. “Sora, Stop it! What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize me?” 

“Yeah, I recognize you.’ Sora growled. “I can see exactly what you’ve become!” 

Riku barely had time to recognize the fact Sora was doing a complex magical attack before it hit him and kicked him back. His head hit the sandy rock and he groaned as his vision swam. 

“How can the light hurt you? Riku, have you really become a creature of dark and evil?” 

“You’re the one with Umbreon. Mimikyu isn’t like that.” Riku groaned as he sat up. Where were Umbreon and Espeon? Mimikyu was sneaking around in the shadows, looking for them too.

“You’re not Riku anymore!” Sora yelled, dragging Riku’s attention back to him. Stupid, stupid. “ You’re just a pawn of Darkness!” 

What ” Riku tried to stand up. 

TIME FOR YOU TO FACE THE LIGHT!” Sora shouted, and lifted his keyblade. A light glowed at the end of it, then it expanded and hit Riku. Riku could hear Mimikyu shriek and he could barely cover his ace in time as it hit him. 

And then he was fading… fading into the light. 

“Sorry, Mimikyu...” Riku whispered. “Maybe we can fade together.” 

“You won't fade.” A voice said. Female… definitely not Mimikyu. Riku cracked open an eye.

“Kairi?” And there she was. The Princess of Heart, a being of pure light in human form, clearly where she was supposed to be. 

“You can’t fade. There is no power that can defeat you. Neither light nor dark. Like your Mimikyu.” 

Technically it was ghost and fairy, but Riku understood her point. 

“So don’t run from the light, and don’t fear the darkness. Because both will make you stronger. “

Also, like Mimikyu. It’s typing left it only vulnerable to ghosts and steel things. 

“Make me stronger?” Riku asked, still a bit out of it. “Darkness too?” 

“Yeah,” Kairi said. “Strength that’s yours. The darkness inside your heart… it’s vast and it’s deep. But if you can truly stare into it and never try to look away, you won’t be afraid of anything again.” 

“All this time I’ve tried to push the darkness away...” Riku muttered, feeling starting to come back to him. 

“You’ve gotta just remember to be brave,” Kairi said. “Know that the darkness is there and don’t give in. If you do that, you will gain strength. The kind that’s unlike any other. You’ll be able to escape the deepest darkness.” 

That time when Riku first arrived in the Realm of Darkness rushed back over him. Staggering around, holding onto Mimikyu, trying to see if he knew where he was or if he could escape… and the light saved him. Mickey and Sora saved him. 

And that’s why Kairi was here too right?

“And see through the brightest light.” He finished. 

“Follow the darkness. It’ll show you the way to your friends.” Kairi said. A smile beginning to grow.

“Can I face them?” Riku asked. He could never face Jasmine again, he knew that. 

“You don’t want to?” Kairi asked… but another voice was there too. She was… a bit blurry somehow. Like someone else was sharing the same space. 

“You know I do. Of course.” Riku said, just as much to himself. Kairi disappeared as Riku ‘stood up’ in the void of light. “AND I WILL! WITH MY STRENGTH! MY DARK STRENGTH!” 

Darkness coursed through him. Encasing him in a cocoon. Maleficent’s was always tainted. It stunk and Riku always felt greasy when he used it. This though…. This was dark like the shade of the cave on a hot day, or the night sky from the beach. This was home. 

“DARKNESS!” Souleater appeared and Riku attacked the void, aiming at a stench. It dissipated and revealed that Riku had hit Sora. 

“Impossible.” Not Sora’s voice. 

Sora turned into Zexion and fell to the ground. Mimikyu rushed back to Riku and gave him a thumbs up. Riku reciprocated the gesture. 

“How is it you found me when you were there in the light?” Zexion gasped. 

“You reek of Darkness.” Riku boasted. “Even the light can’t block the smell. I guess I followed the darkness right to you.” 

“That is absurd.” Zexion groaned. “Then I shall make you see that your hopes are nothing. Nothing but a MERE ILLUSION!” 

Riku’s hopes were much more substantive though, and Zexion winced, as Mismagius flew behind him. 

“After all your protests, you’re still like us, on the side of darkness.” Zexion hissed.

“I know who I am,” Riku growled and stepped forward, still encased in his dark suit. 

“When did that happen?” Zexion backed up and pressed up against a rock. “You were always terrified of the darkness before...”

“Not anymore!” Riku shouted and slashed at Zexion. It was a solid hit, and Zexion and Mismagius fled into a portal. Riku picked up Mimikyu again.

“Thank you.” He whispered. Mimikyu gave what passed for a nod, and reached out a shadowy hand to pat Riku on the head. Riku smiled, turned, and walked out the now revealed door.

**  
“Do you want to die, do you want me to fake your death, or will you come back.” 

Zexion hadn’t even had time to look around when he arrived back to the basement before Axel spoke. 

“What?” Zexion, still wincing in pain, turned around. Axel was leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed. Houndoom lay at his feet, glaring at Mismagius. 

“How do you want to get out of this. I can kill you, we can fake your death, or you can claim you fought Riku, lost, and escaped back to the Org mostly unharmed.” Axel spoke again, slowly. 

“What are you doing and why are you doing this?” Zexion asked. Axel gave a nod to Houndoom, who got up and went off to the corner of the room. When he came back, he had dragged a chair along. Houndoom took it to Zexion, who gratefully sat in it. “Does this have to do with Riku or the Replica? Or Namine?” 

“Ignore Riku for a second.”Axel waved his hand. Houndoom went back to pull another chair over. Once it got to Axel, it bumped Axel’s leg. Axel gave Houndoom a pat as he sat down. “What do you remember about Radiant Gardens? Did you meet a kid named Ven?” 

Zexion frowned, stroking his chin. “Vaguely.” He admitted. “I was six when everything happened. I think someone named Ven saved me when I was attacked by something. Vexen would know more.” 

Axel winced at that. 

“Sorry,” he said. Zexion ignored him, but a chill filled the air a bit. 

“What does Ven have to do with anything?” Zexion finally said. “He was only there for a day.”

“Sora has his Espeon,” Axel said matter of factly. “The Espeon and my houndoom recognized each other. I must have run into Ven right after you did.”

“That is a coincidence,” Zexion muttered, then paused, the gears turning in his mind. “ROXAS!” 

“Exactly.” Axel leaned back. “I’ve spent this whole mission trying to figure it out. Sora has Ven’s pokemon. For ten years or so, I’d guess. Roxas looks exactly like Ven, but he has his own pokemon. A Litten. I was there when they bonded.” 

Zexion sat back in his own chair at this. 

“How...”

“I don’t know.” Axel sighed. “There’s been enough murder and bloodshed around here. If you want to join Vexen in nothingness, tell me. I’ll make it happen. But if you want to work on this mystery, we can either fake your death and you’ll be on the run from the Org, or you’ll return to the Org with me and play dumb. Especially on the replicas like Riku’s Replica. Who has now developed a sense of his own identity and is looking for Riku.” Axel shook his head. “I wonder if all this was planned by Xemnas.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Zexion muttered. Axel had gone back to scratching Houndoom’s ears. Zexion glanced at Mismagius who had floated down next to him and made small illusions, trying to fit the pieces together. Zexion looked back at Axel “I’ve made a decision.”

**  
“Riku… Riku...” A voice floated from the empty white room. Riku paused, his hand itching to summon his weapon. 

“Who’s there?” He called out, trying to force bravado. He knew who it was. 

“I know you can feel it… the grip I have on your heart.” 

Pain burst in his chest. Riku fell to the ground, his hands pressed against his heart, with Mimikyu trying desperately to prop him up on his knees. 

“You have to let in the darkness, Riku. That means soon your heart shall become an all-consuming darkness.” It was Ansem. Riku always knew it was Ansem. Ansem, who fed his desire for power and control and then controlled him to hurt his friends. 

Riku could never escape what he did. He knew that. But what hurt just as much was Mimikyu trying frantically to keep him from attacking his friends. Whether he was in control or not.

“I’M NOT LIKE THAT NOW!” Riku shouted, whether it was for himself or Ansem, who knew. 

“Yes. You are.” Riku couldn’t move. Couldn’t blink. Could just barely breathe. Ansem had him under his complete control. He could see Dhelmise begin to manifest, as Darkness began to seep from Riku. Mimikyu, still in front, now was trying to punch or push Riku back, to break the spell Ansem had on him. 

“The deeper the darkness runs inside of you, Riku, the stronger I become. Controlling you is effortless.” The voice dripped venom and flashes spring in Riku’s mind. The stuff he had done, like attacking Sora, and stuff he could see that Ansem wanted him to do. Like pull Kairi’s heart out and turn the island into Heartless by his hand. And then lead those onto world after world. 

Something else jumped into his heart. Something light. The light fought against the visions, drowning them out.

“UGH MUST YOU INTERFERE AGAIN?” Ansem shouted, and then vanished, along with Dhelmise. 

“Phew! Sure glad I made it in time! That ought to keep Ansem busy for a while.” 

Riku knew that voice. He found he could move, and twirled around to see a mouse and a teddiursa standing behind him, solid. The mouse gave him a smile. 

“Sorry I couldn’t come here sooner, Riku.” 

“Your… Your majesty? Is that you?” Riku knelt down and reached out. He was sure that royalty rules said no commoner could touch him. 

But he was from an island. They elected a mayor and there was no one above the mayor. So with “No sense of personal safety” and “Sheer relief that someone understood him” Riku began to poke the mouse. 

“That tickles!” The mouse, the king, the being that just saved his life, began to live. Mimikyu turned, eyed Mickey’s Teddiursa, then went behind Riku. Sure, Ghosts couldn’t be affected by normal type attacks, but it would still be a pain for Riku to sew Mimikyu’s cloth back up. Riku began to live.

“This time, you’re not an illusion. I’m so glad you could make it here.” Riku sighed. Relief began to course through him.

“I made a promise to you that I would find a way, didn’t I?” Mickey asked. Riku smiled and then fell to the ground. 

“I’m okay.” He said, and he tried to push himself back up. Mimikyu went around to help. “Don’t worry. I guess I’m just relieved. I’ve… I’ve been alone so long that having someone else around is… a little… overwhelming.”

Mimikyu stopped trying to help and went back behind him. 

“Besides Mimikyu, who has been a great help but he also can’t talk back,” Riku said, turning so he looked a bit more at Mimikyu. Who took his ghostly hands out and tugged a bit harder than was needed so Riku could sit back on the floor. 

“How did you make it here?” Riku asked. “I thought it was too far?” 

“I found a card to help me!” Mickey held up a card, it had a town Riku didn’t recognize on it. “I needed a way out of the realm of Darkness – among other things - and then suddenly this card appeared right in front of me. When I picked it up, I could see someone’s heart beyond the darkness. That’s what let me find you. I guess the card thought its place was to be with you.” 

Mickey sounded sad at that. Or at least that he was expecting someone or something else. 

Riku took the card, and then looked at the door.

“Maybe you’re right.”

 

**  
The town Riku entered was… different. He hadn’t seen anything like it. All warm brick and stained glass and brass. 

“Where am I? What is this place? Your Majesty?” Mimikyu was still there, but Mickey had disappeared. 

“You must battle me all alone, against my dark powers,” Ansem said as he appeared in the darkness. He raised his hands and the Guardian came from behind him.

Riku summoned his weapon, then stopped, his eyes narrowing. 

“What’s this? Are you giving up? Finally ready to surrender to your fate?”

“You’re not the true Ansem.” He said. Ansem stopped, the guardian disappeared. 

“Your scent is different. The Ansem in my heart smells darker, like the back of a cave so dark even the moss dies. But your scent isn’t just darkness. It’s something else. I… I finally understand.” He glanced at Mimikyu, who tilted his head and look back. “You’re the one who guided me when it started. You came to me, pretending to be Ansem. You gave me the card, to make me face the Darkness.” 

“That’s correct.” 

Ansem dissipated, revealing a new man. His face was, for some reason, covered in belts and a red sash and he wore a large red cloak with some embroidery over a black robe thing. His pokemon appeared now, a Nosepass. “I am called DiZ. You, I’ve watched you all along.” 

“Really?” Riku asked. “Who are you, and what do you want from me?”

“For you to choose,” DiZ said simply. Mimikyu left Riku’s size to go poke the Nospass. 

“Choose?” Riku asked. 

“You are a special entity. You exist between Light and Dark. You stand in the Twilight.” Riku glanced at Mimikyu, who had abandoned Nosepass to give an impression of laughing. “You are to meet Namine, then choose.” 

“Namine?” Riku mimicked Mimikyu and tilted his head. “Who’s that?”

“You will know soon.” and with that, DiZ somehow turned into a ball of light, and flew away. 

“Well, that wasn’t bizarre at all,” Riku muttered. “Come on, Mimikyu, let’s try to figure out what the layout of this town is.”

 

Soon, Riku ended up in front of a weird mansion. He looked around and found his double sitting on the ground by the wall there. He was petting a Pikachu and looked up.

“You know, I never really knew what you looked like. There isn’t really a lot of mirrors in here.”

“We met before,” Riku said. He picked up Mimikyu before he could start attacking the Pikachu. Mimikyu still strained against the hold Riku had on him. “Down quite a few floors. You don’t remember?”

“No.” His replica shook his head. “Namine rewrote my memory so I thought I was you. I’m pretty sure she was forced to do it. I got Pikachu though.” Pikachu made a sound that said it was very comfortable in the replica’s arms. “They thought you had one.” 

Mimikyu made an insulted noise at that. His replica buried his face Pikachu’s fur. Riku looked around and walked over to his replica tentatively. 

“What do you remember?” He finally asked. His replica shrugged. 

“I was given your memories. Except for ones where Namine was put in. So… nothing real before I made my promise to protect her on the top floor. Even if that promise was based on false memory, it’s real.” He squeezed Pikachu. Pikachu slipped out and went onto his replica’s head, patting it. His Replica pulled his legs up and hugged them. 

 

“Sora says I’m real. Sora’s okay.” He said softly. “He says I’m different from you, and I can develop even more. I… I don’t even know if I exist.” 

Riku looked at the face, looked at his face. And saw how Maleficent must have seen him. A scared child, knowing they are something they can’t explain, and yet so unsure. 

“All I have is I promised Namine I’d protect her. It’s different from you, but am I me?” The replica buried his face in his arms. 

 

Riku went over and sat down next to him. He wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but Mimikyu would sneak out if he did that. 

“I can’t answer that,” Riku said. “Only you can. And what I can say, as I have no clue who Namine is, and your thing with reality is different than me and Darkness… well, we are different.” His Replica looked at him. “Do they call you anything?”

“No.” He said softly. “No one calls me anything but Riku. But you’re Riku.” 

“Well, we’ll think on it then.” Riku sighed and laid back so his head was on the wall. “Can I call you Repliku for now?” 

“Might as well.” Repliku sighed. Pikachu nuzzled his hair. “I wish we at least looked different.” 

Riku paused and glanced at Mimikyu. Then he got up, held Mimikyu in the crook of one arm, then held out his other hand.

“Come with me.” He said. Repliku looked up. “Do you have any plans?”

“Just Protect Namine. I promised her and Sora that, before Sora went under. ” Repliku shrugged. “Do you?” 

“No,” Riku said. “Just protect Sora and Kairi. We can figure out what and who we are, together.” 

Repliku reached up and grasped Riku’s hand.

***

“Namine! I’m back!” Repliku, Pikachu still on his head, opened the door and let Riku through. Riku found Sora hovering in some sort of tank. Next to him were two smaller tanks, one had Espeon, the other had Umbreon. Donald and Goofy, and Kangaskhan and Delphox were in their own tanks. A girl stood up in front of Sora’s tank. She looked vaguely like Kairi, but not. She had long blond hair, a simple white dress, and sandals, and carried a pad of paper. Next to her was a smeargle. 

“Hello!” She said. “Nice to finally meet you, Riku.”

“You’re...” He looked at her. She paused. “Forget it. What are you doing to Sora?”

“Nothing,” Namine said softly. “He’s just asleep. He is getting his memories back.” 

“Repliku explained some of it,” Riku said, touching the glass. “He chose to forget about this castle to get his old memories back?”

“Yes,” Namine said. “You have a choice to make too.” Repliku went to Donald’s pod and leaned upon it. 

“No one has messed with my memories, they’ve messed with his though.” He glanced at Repliku, who glared at him. “Too soon?”

“Yeah,” Repliku replied. “Too soon.”

“It’s not your memories.” Namine interrupted them. “It’s your darkness. In your heart there is Darkness, and in that is Ansem. He may be at bay for now, but eventually, he’ll wake and he will take you over like he did before. But I have powers I can use. With my powers, I can put a tight lock on your heart, and then Ansem could never appear from inside of you.”

“What happens?” Riku asked. “Will I forget everything like Sora?” Namine said nothing, Repliku shrugged. 

“I’ll have to.” He guessed. 

“The Darkness in you will be sealed tight, just like your memory. You’ll stop remembering the darkness. You’ll go back to how you were. Riku, please choose.” Repliku left his perch and went to behind Namine, so Riku was looking at his and Kairi’s mirrors. Their Could Have Beens. And with Sora behind them… 

But they didn’t happen. They did here, but not out there. They were real, they were very real. And someone needed to keep them, all of them all of us, safe and real. 

 

“Would I sleep like that?” He asked. 

“Yes,” Namine said. 

“Figures.” Riku snorted. “Sora always did as he pleased. Whatever we’d be doing together, he’d find a way to slack off. Even trying to leave the islands, I did all the work on the raft by myself! That’s it.”  
Riku said, glancing at Mimikyu. Mimikyu climbed up on Riku’s head and then used its hands to make a threatening gesture at Pikachu. This will be fun. 

“When this slacker wakes up, I’ll tell him off,” Riku said as he grabbed Mimikyu from his head. “I told him to take care of Kairi, and here he is, just taking a nap! But I can’t chew him out like he deserves if I’ve been asleep.” That wasn’t all of it. 

No, That was just part of it. But he knew himself, and he would never accept “You need help” as a reason. But someone did need to protect Kairi too. 

“I’m going to fight Ansem.” Riku finished. 

“but what if his darkness overtakes you?” Namine asked. Repliku rolled his eyes.

“Then I beat him, duh.” 

“Or darkness can show me the way,” Riku said. “We have two options.” 

“That’s… true.’ Namine said. 

“Why did I get the feeling you knew I would say that?” Riku asked. Repliku shrugged and Namine gave a knowing smile.

“I didn’t know.” She admitted. “I hoped. I wanted you to face the darkness because you’re the one who can.”

“So, that’s the reason...” He paused. “That’s why you came to my rescue inside the light, in the form of Kairi!”

“When did that happen?” Repliku asked. 

“When did you know?” Namine asked. 

“When I met you,” Riku admitted. “You and Kairi smell the same.” He turned to go. “Namine, look after Sora. Repliku, look after Namine. I’ll find you when this is over.” 

 

**  
“I guess you decided not to go to sleep,” Mickey said. Teddiursa was next to him. Both were reassuringly material. 

“How’d you know that?” Riku asked, still holding onto Mimikyu. 

“I heard it from DiZ!” Mickey explained and pointed. Riku turned and saw DiZ leaning up against the wall. Riku knelt down next to Mickey. 

“Do you know him?” Riku whispered. 

“Not sure,” Mickey replied. “He feels familiar, but the Nosepass is throwing me. I know someone with a Nosepass, but he didn’t look like DiZ at all.” Riku got up and turned to the man.

“Hey, who are you?” He asked.

“I could be nobody or anybody.” The man sighed. “It is up to you whether you choose to believe me or not.” 

“… you REALLY like pushing decisions on other people. Especially ones with complicated explanations.” Riku muttered. 

“And you have pushed away slumber to instead face Ansem.” DiZ pointed out. 

“Do you think I’m reckless? “ Riku asked, in a tone that said he couldn’t care less.

“You have chosen your path.” Well, that didn’t help.

“Are you supporting me, or abandoning me?” Riku shot back. 

“That will be your choice as well.” DiZ took out a black cloak like the one the Organization wore and handed it to Riku. 

“What’s this?” Riku asked. 

“The Organization will pursue you. Like a pack of Arcanine or Mightyena, they will sneak up on you if they sense your presence. However, this cloak that is worn by the nobodies will render their eyes and noses useless. Their ears… not so.” He paused as if waiting for some laugh. “They wear this to give themselves protection from being devoured by darkness. Is it clear? Even the Organization cannot rule the darkness.” 

Mickey suddenly looked terrified and he gripped his cloak.

“Do you have another one?” He asked. DiZ nodded. “There is someone here I need to find. But-” He glanced at Riku. “Riku also needs me.” 

“I shall look for this person,” DiZ said. “The light has no love for me. As for you, Riku.”

“I won’t run from the Darkness.’ Riku said. 

DiZ said nothing and gave Riku a card. 

 

“This card will draw out your heart’s desires. Finish your business with Ansem.” 

“Let’s go,” Riku said to Mickey, once he took the card. 

Mickey nodded and they both went towards the last door. 

 

“He said this card will draw out Ansem.” Riku mused. Mimikyu was eyeing Teddiursa but was otherwise not remarking on anything. Teddiursa just stood there, being adorable with a pink polka dotted boy on its head. 

“Don’t worry, we can defeat him together!” Mickey said. He reached out to grab Riku’s hand.

“Sorry, I got to face him alone,” Riku said. 

“Why?” Mickey asked. 

“There’s no point in doing this if I can’t do it on my own,” Riku said. Mimikyu gave a nod. “But I do need a favor. “ He took a deep breath. “if Ansem is the victor, he’s going to enslave me. If that happens, use your powers to dest-” But he couldn’t finish.

“Of course! I’ll be right there to save ya!” Teddiursa mimicked Mickey and they both put their hands over their hearts. 

“Huh?” Riku blinked. “No, no that’s not it. I want you to destr-” Mickey grabbed Riku and pulled him down to his eye line. 

“No way,” Mickey said seriously. “No matter what happens, I’m going to be right there to help ya. I promise ya that. Unless…” he paused, sounding dejected. “You don’t believe I’ll come through for ya.” 

“I choose to believe in you, always your Majesty,” Riku said softly. 

“And I, you,” Mickey replied, letting go. “You’re not gonna lose, I know it.” 

“Thanks.” 

Then Riku put up the card, and the doorway opened.   
**

The darkness called to Riku, and he chased it to destroy it. He had Mimikyu, Mickey, Repliku, Teddiursa, Pikachu, Namine, Smeargle, Sora and Kairi behind him. Ansem had nothing. And soon he would know that.  
**  
“I can smell you, Ansem. Show yourself!” Riku shouted as he entered a large, bare, room. They were all bare, white walls of nothingness. The deepest Darkness he had been in was terrifying for not being able to see anything. Somehow, these white walls were terrifying the same way. 

“I have watched you fight,” Ansem said as he appeared. Dhelmise was next to him. “I know your strength, your skill with Darkness has grown. It has become… more mature. And yet why, why do you accept the darkness but still refuse me?” Ansem growled. “You know you and I are similar. We both follow where the darkness leads. Indeed, we are the same, so why? Why does some part of your heart still have a fear of the dark?” 

He had almost drowned in the dark, the dark where Ansem resided true. But the darkness where he met Mimikyu too. And he was saved in both. 

“That’s not it,” Riku said. “The truth is...” He pulled out his weapon. “You just stink.” 

“You are a fool.” Ansem sniffed. “You should know my powers well by now.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Riku said smugly. “Or did you forget? I used all the power you had to give, and still, Sora beat me! I’m not impressed with you or your powers!” 

Ansem paused. “Well, in that case.” Darkness coursed out from him. “You shall sink into the abyss!” 

The battle was quick and furious, and Riku was superior. 

“This is the end!” Riku shouted as he slashed through towards Ansem. Dhelmise and Mimikyu were fighting, with Mimikyu doing what he could to keep him back. 

“This is hardly the end,” Ansem growled. Dhelmise broke free and rushed to Ansem’s side, but Ansem ushed into a portal as he continued to fade. “Your darkness… I gave it all… to you… My shadow lingers. Someday, I WILL RETURN!” he darkness exploded, and Mimikyu made happy sounds until it swept over both of them.

“Sora, Kairi,” Riku whispered as he fell to his knees. 

“Gosh, Riku, I know you wanted to do this alone. But you don’t mind a LITTLE help, do ya?” Mickey said, and then light fought away the darkness. 

Riku found himself on the first floor, a large, ornate, wooden door in front of him. 

He could leave. Wonders of wonders, he could leave. He turned though and looked back. Namine and Repliku, they were still there in the castle. Did they know? Could he find them again? 

“So, Riku, what happens next? Ar you goin’ home?” Mickey asked, looking out at the door. Teddiursa joined him in looking out at the door. Riku never noticed it before, but they seemed to be about the same height. 

“I can’t go home,” Riku said. “Not yet. It’s still here. It’s really faint, but I can sense him. So, I think his darkness may still have a hold on me.” Mimikyu gave another insulted noise. “And I can’t leave Namine and Repliku completely alone. But I think they will be safe here in the castle, at least for a while. Maybe I can find a place for them to go. But I need to deal with my darkness first, with Ansem first.”

“Oh, Riku. Your darkness belongs to you, just the same way your light does.” Mickey said as Teddiursa nodded. “Up till now, I thought darkness was something that should never exist. Well, Dark type pokemon could, but not darkness. Then I spent time with you, and you change my mind. The road you chose, I didn’t know. Light and dark, back to back. With you, I think they might meet in a way no one’s seen before.” Mimikyu glared. “No non-pokemon before.” Mickey corrected himself. “I wonder where that road leads, I’d like to see it myself.”

 

“Hm?” Riku turned to look at Mickey. He saw Mickey was holding out his hand.

“I’d like to walk that road with ya.” 

Riku started to laugh and took his hand. 

“Your Majesty, I’m really flattered,” Riku said. “I… I don’t know what to say.” Mimikyu was nodding enthusiastically and Teddiursa was looking at Riku with wide eyes.

“Gosh, Riku, you know you don’t have to call me that now. We’re pals.” Mickey said.

“Fair enough, Mickey.”   
**

A short time later, Riku and Mickey were walking through knee-high grass with Teddiursa behind them, and Mimikyu hiding under the hood of Riku’s hood. 

“I think I get it, Mimikyu,” Riku said as they traipsed through the grass and dirt roads. Soon they arrived at a crossroads. DiZ stood there. 

“ What are you making me choose now?” Riku asked. Mimikyu pushed the hood back a bit and reached out with his arms, probably checking to see if anyone had a knife. 

“Between the road to light, and the road to darkness,” DiZ said, pointing to each road. 

“Neither suits me,” Riku said as he walked past Diz and to another road, straight ahead. “I’m taking the middle road, right Mimikyu?” 

Mimikyu made a happy noise and Mickey and Teddiursa hurried to follow him. 

“Do you mean it’s the twilight road to nightfall?” DiZ asked. 

“No,” Riku said, a voice full of confidence. “It’s the road to dawn.”


End file.
